ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 583
(By Senators Kessler and Minard)
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[Passed March 9, 2002; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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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.
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amended, be repealed; and that section two, article sixteen of said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 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 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
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 one year, 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;
(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 the institution;
(e) A policy issued to or in the name of any volunteer fire
department, insuring all of the members of 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 the
membership but in each
case not less than ten members;
(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 the
group life policy.