H. B. 2039
(By Delegate Walters)
[Introduced February 12, 1997; referred to the
Committee on Banking and Insurance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section two, article sixteen, chapter
thirty-three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to insurance;
group insurance policies.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two, article sixteen, 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 16. GROUP ACCIDENT AND SICKNESS INSURANCE.
§33-16-2. Eligible groups.
Any insurer licensed to transact accident and sickness
insurance in this state may issue group accident and sickness
policies coming within any of the following classifications:
(a) A policy issued to an employer, who shall be is deemed
the policyholder, insuring at least ten employees of
such the employer, for the benefit of persons other than the
employer, and conforming to the following requirements:
(1) If the premium is paid by the employer the group
shall comprise all employees or all of any class or classes
thereof determined by conditions pertaining to the
employment; or
(2) If the premium is paid by the employer and employees
jointly, or by the employees, the group shall comprise not
less than seventy percent of all employees of the employer or
not less than seventy-five percent of all employees of any
class or classes thereof determined by conditions pertaining
to the employment employees who elect to make the payments;
(3) The term "employee" as used herein shall be is
deemed to include the officers, managers and employees of the
employer, the partners, if the employer is a partnership, the
officers, managers, and employees of subsidiary or affiliated
corporations of a corporation employer, and the individual
proprietors, partners and employees of individuals and firms, the business of which is controlled by the insured employer
through stock ownership, contract or otherwise. The term
"employer" as used herein may be is deemed to include any
municipal or governmental corporation, unit, agency or
department thereof and the proper officers as such, of any
unincorporated municipality or department thereof, as well as
private individuals, partnerships and corporations.
(b) A policy issued to an association which has a
constitution and bylaws and which has been organized and is
maintained in good faith for purposes other than that of
obtaining insurance, insuring at least ten members of the
association for the benefit of persons other than the
association or its officers or trustees. as such
(c) A policy issued to a college, school or other
institution of learning or to the head or principal thereof,
insuring at least ten students, or students and employees, of
such the institution.
(d) A policy issued to or in the name of any volunteer
fire department, insuring all of the members of such the
department or all of any class or classes thereof against any
one or more of the hazards to which they are exposed by
reason of such the membership but in each case not less than ten such members.
(e) A policy issued to any person or organization to
which a policy of group life insurance may be issued or
delivered in this state, to insure any class or classes of
individuals that could be insured under such the group life
policy.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to eliminate the 75%
participation requirement currently required for group
insurance policies when the policy premium is partly or
wholly paid by the employee. The bill also includes
technical changes for the purpose of cleaning up language in
the code.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.