Senate Bill No. 583
(By Senators Kessler and Minard)
____________
[Introduced February 13, 2002; referred to the Committee
on Banking and Insurance.]
____________
A BILL to repeal section twenty-two, article one, chapter
thirty-three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact
section two, article sixteen of said chapter, relating to the
definition of association.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-two, article one, chapter thirty-three of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be repealed; and that section two, article sixteen of said
chapter 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 deemed
considered the policyholder, insuring at least ten employees of
such 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;
(3) The term "employee" as used herein shall be deemed
considered
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 deemed considered
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 been in
existence for at least five years, 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 bona fide association;
(c) (d) 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) (e) 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) (f) 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 repeal the definition
of
association in
§
33-1-22 and to amend the current definition of
association to require an association to be eligible to purchase
insurance to be in existence for at least five years or longer
before it is eligible to purchase insurance.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.)
__________
BANKING AND INSURANCE COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
On page one, by striking out the title and substituting
therefor a new title, to read as follows:
Eng. Senate Bill No. 583--A Bill to repeal section twenty-two,
article one, chapter thirty-three of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and
reenact section two, article sixteen of said chapter, relating
generally to group accident and sickness insurance; specifying
eligible groups; eliminating erroneous definition of bona fide
association; and clarifying entities to which certain licensed
insurers may issue a group policy.