Senate Bill No. 310
(By Senator Minard)
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[Introduced March 8, 1993; referred to the Committee
on Banking and Insurance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section fourteen, article sixteen-a,
chapter thirty-three of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
insurers advance notice to covered employees, members,
spouses, children or dependents of conversion rights upon
termination of the policy.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section fourteen, article sixteen-a, chapter thirty-
three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 16A. GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE CONVERSION.
§33-16A-14. Benefit levels; election to provide group coverage;
notification of conversion privilege; policy
delivered outside state.
If the benefit levels required in section nine of this
article exceed the benefit levels provided under the grouppolicy, the conversion policy may offer benefits which are
substantially similar to those provided under the group policy
in lieu of those required in section nine.
The insurer may elect to provide group insurance coverage in
lieu of the issuance of a converted individual policy.
The insurer, prior to terminating the policy for any reason,
shall notify each employee or member, or such employee's or
member's spouse, child or dependent entitled to the conversion
privilege under this article, at least forty-five sixty days in
advance of the termination, in writing, of the pending
termination. The notice shall inform the employee or member of
the conversion privilege provided in this article.
A notification of the conversion privilege shall also be
included in each certificate of coverage.
A converted policy which is delivered outside this state
must be on a form which could be delivered in such other
jurisdiction as a converted policy had the group policy been
issued in that jurisdiction.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to extend from 45 days to
60 days the advance notice an insurer must give to insured
employees or members and their insured spouses and dependents who
are entitled to conversion privileges of the termination of a
group health or accident and sickness policy and of conversion
rights under the policy. This change makes the notice period
consistent with the notice period required as to individual
health or accident and sickness policies.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.