Title 33, Title 33

(1) The commissioner may suspend, revoke, refuse to issue, or refuse to renew a license if the commissioner determines that the licensee or applicant for a license is untrustworthy or incompetent to act as a licensee or is guilty of one or more of the following: (a) dishonesty, f…

(1) A viatical settlement contract must be in writing. A viatical settlement provider shall establish in the contract the terms under which the viatical settlement provider will pay compensation or anything of value in return for the policyholder's or certificate holder's assignm…

Unless the commissioner grants a time extension, a viatical settlement provider shall file a report for the preceding calendar year with the commissioner on or before March 1 of each year. The report must be in the form and must contain the information that the commissioner presc…

(1) Subject to the provisions of 33-20-101(2) and except as provided in 33-20-132 through 33-20-136, there must be a provision that after 3 full years' premiums have been paid and after the policy or certificate has a cash surrender value and while a premium is not in default bey…

(1) The commissioner may examine the business and practices of any licensee or applicant for a license when the commissioner determines an examination to be necessary. The commissioner may order a licensee or applicant to produce any records, books, files, or other information re…

A viatical settlement provider shall disclose the information specified in this section to the policyholder or certificate holder entering the viatical settlement contract prior to the date on which the viatical settlement contract is signed by all parties. The disclosure must be…

(1) Before a viatical settlement provider enters into a viatical settlement contract with a policyholder or certificate holder who has a terminal illness or condition, the viatical settlement provider shall first obtain the following: (a) a written statement from an attending phy…

(1) A person may not enter into a viatical settlement contract within a 2-year period from the date of issuance of an insurance policy or certificate unless the person certifies to the viatical settlement provider that one or more of the following conditions have been met within …

(1) Within 3 business days after receipt of documents from the policyholder or certificate holder effecting the transfer of the insurance policy or certificate, the viatical settlement provider shall pay the proceeds of the settlement to an escrow or trust account managed by a tr…

The commissioner may, in accordance with the provisions of 33-1-313, adopt rules for the purpose of carrying out this part. In addition, the commissioner: (1) may establish standards for evaluating reasonableness of payments under viatical settlement contracts for insured individ…

(1) For viatical settlement providers, the provisions of Title 33, chapter 1, part 6, apply. (2) For viatical settlement brokers, service of process must be made pursuant to 35-7-113 or in any other manner permitted by law.

(1) A viatical settlement provider shall disclose the information specified in this section to a viatical settlement purchaser prior to the date on which the parties sign the viatical settlement purchase agreement. (2) The viatical settlement purchaser shall date and sign the inf…

(1) If there is more than one owner on a single life insurance policy and the owners are residents of different states, the viatical settlement contract is governed by the law of the state in which the owner having the largest percentage ownership resides or, if the owners hold e…

The purpose of 33-20-132 through 33-20-136 is to permit and set guidelines for life insurers to include in life insurance policies issued after October 1, 1985, a provision for periodic adjustment of policy loan interest rates.

The provisions of 33-20-132 through 33-20-136 do not apply to: (1) term policies; (2) term insurance benefits provided by rider or supplemental policy provisions; or (3) industrial life insurance policies except as provided in 33-20-112.

For purposes of 33-20-132 through 33-20-136, the "published monthly average" means: (1) Moody's corporate bond yield average--monthly average corporates, as published by Moody's investors service, incorporated; or (2) in the event that Moody's corporate bond yield average--monthl…

(1) (a) Life insurance policies issued on or after October 1, 1985, may have a provision permitting policy loan interest rates as follows: (i) a maximum interest rate of not more than 8% a year; or (ii) an adjustable maximum interest rate established from time to time by the life…

The provisions of 33-20-132 through 33-20-135 do not apply to any insurance contract issued before October 1, 1985, unless the policyholder agrees in writing to the applicability of such provisions.

This part may be cited as the "Structured Settlement Protection Act".

As used in this part, unless the context requires otherwise, the following definitions apply: (1) "Annuity issuer" means an insurer that has issued a contract to fund periodic payments under a structured settlement. (2) "Consideration" has the meaning provided in 28-2-801. (3) "D…

No less than 3 days prior to the date on which a payee signs a transfer agreement, the transferee shall provide to the payee a written disclosure statement separate from the transfer agreement that sets forth in bold type no smaller than 14 points: (1) the amounts and the due dat…

A direct or indirect transfer of a structured settlement payment right is not effective and a structured settlement obligor or annuity issuer is not required to make a payment directly or indirectly to a transferee of a structured settlement payment right unless a final court ord…

After the transfer of a structured settlement payment right pursuant to this part: (1) the structured settlement obligor and the annuity issuer are discharged and released from liability for the transferred payments to all parties except to the transferee; (2) the transferee is l…

After the transfer of a structured settlement payment right pursuant to this part, any further transfer by the payee is subject to all of the requirements of this part.

(1) A transferee may apply under this part for approval of a transfer of a structured settlement payment right: (a) in the county in which the payee resides; (b) in the county in which the structured settlement obligor or the annuity issuer maintains a principal place of business…

A payee may not waive the provisions of this part.

(1) A transfer agreement entered into on or after October 1, 2005, by a payee who resides in this state must provide that disputes under the transfer agreement, including a claim that the payee has breached the agreement, must be determined in this state under the laws of this st…

(1) Subject to subsection (2), an insurer may not cancel a life insurance policy or annuity for nonpayment of premiums until the insurer has mailed or delivered to the named insured and policyowner, where they are not the same, at the last-known post office address shown in the r…

A transfer of a structured settlement payment right may not extend to a payment that is contingent upon the life of a payee unless prior to the date on which the payee signs the transfer agreement the transferee has established and agreed to maintain procedures reasonably satisfa…

(1) Compliance with the requirements in 33-20-1403 and fulfillment of the conditions in 33-20-1404 are the sole responsibility of the transferee in any transfer of a structured settlement payment right. Neither the structured settlement obligor nor the annuity issuer bears respon…

This part may not be construed to authorize a transfer of a structured settlement payment right in contravention of any law or to imply that any transfer under a transfer agreement entered into prior to October 1, 2005, is valid or invalid.

(1) (a) The notice of cancellation shall state: (i) the amount of the premium, installment, or interest due on such policy; (ii) the place where it must be paid; and (iii) the name and address of the person or company to which the premium is payable. (b) The notice must also stat…

(1) (a) The commissioner shall adopt rules providing for and regulating life insurance policy illustrations, annuity disclosure, and sales illustrations that are marketed, issued, or issued for delivery to Montana residents. (b) The rules must specify any types of life insurance …

(1) (a) "Funeral insurance" means an insurance policy or certificate that requires a one-time payment or the payment of premiums to provide for the costs of a funeral and burial for the policyholder or a named individual. (b) Funeral insurance is a type of life insurance provided…

Funeral insurance proceeds that exceed the cost of the funeral goods and services provided must be paid in accordance with the beneficiary designation in the insurance policy or certificate.

The commissioner may adopt rules to regulate funeral insurance, including but not limited to rules regarding licensure of producers, form review, and consumer protection.

This part may be cited as the "Unclaimed Life Insurance Benefits Act".

The purposes of this part are to require recognition of the escheat or unclaimed property statutes of Montana and to require complete and proper disclosure, transparency, and accountability relating to any method of payment for life insurance death benefits regulated by the commi…

(1) This part applies to life insurance policies, annuity contracts, certificates under a life insurance policy or annuity contract, or certificates issued to a fraternal benefit society under which benefits are payable upon the death of the insured. (2) This part may not be cons…

As used in this part, the following definitions apply: (1) (a) "Certificate under a life insurance policy" means a certificate of life insurance that provides a death benefit. (b) The term does not include a certificate of life insurance that provides a death benefit under: (i) a…

(1) An insurer shall perform a comparison of life insurance policies, annuity contracts, and retained asset accounts that are in force for its insureds against a death master file on at least a semiannual basis to identify potential matches of its insureds. For any potential matc…

A violation of the provisions of 33-20-1605 by an insurer constitutes an unfair method of competition or a deceptive act or practice in the business of insurance as provided in Title 33, chapter 18, part 2.

This part shall be known as the "Standard Nonforfeiture Law for Life Insurance".

(1) In the case of policies issued on or after the operative date of this part as defined in 33-20-213, no policy of life insurance, except as set forth in 33-20-212, shall be delivered or issued for delivery in this state unless it shall contain in substance the following provis…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), any cash surrender value available under the policy in the event of default in the premium payment due on any policy anniversary, whether or not required by 33-20-202, is an amount not less than the excess, if any, of the present value on…

(1) This section does not apply to policies issued on or after the operative date of 33-20-208. (2) (a) Except as provided in subsection (3), the adjusted premiums for any policy shall be calculated on an annual basis and shall be such uniform percentage of the respective premium…