512B.19 - THE BENEFIT CONTRACT.
512B.19 THE BENEFIT CONTRACT. 1. A society authorized to do business in this state shall issue to each owner of a benefit contract a certificate specifying the amount of benefits provided pursuant to the benefit contract. The certificate, together with any riders or endorsements attached to the certificate, the laws of the society, the application for membership, the application for insurance and declaration of insurability, if any, signed by the applicant, and all amendments, constitute the benefit contract, as of the date of issuance, between the society and the owner, and the certificate shall so state. A copy of the application for insurance and declaration of insurability, if any, shall be endorsed upon or attached to the certificate. Statements on the application are representations and not warranties. A waiver of this provision is void. 2. Additions or amendments to the laws of a society duly made or enacted subsequent to the issuance of the certificate, bind the owner and the beneficiaries, and govern and control the benefit contract in all respects the same as though the additions or amendments had been made before and were in force at the time of the application for insurance, except that an addition or amendment shall not destroy or diminish benefits which the society contracted to give the owner as of the date of issuance. 3. A person upon whose life a benefit contract is issued before the person attains the age of majority is bound by the terms of the application and certificate and by all the laws and regulations of the society to the same extent as though the person had attained the age of majority at the time of application. 4. A society shall provide in its laws that if its reserves as to all or any class of certificates become impaired, its supreme governing body or board of directors may require that there be paid by the owners to the society the amount of the owners' equitable proportion of the deficiency as ascertained by its governing body or board, and that if the payment is not made either of the following will apply: a. The required payment or assessment shall stand as an indebtedness against the certificate and draw interest not to exceed the rate specified for certificate loans under the certificates. b. In lieu of or in combination with paragraph "a", the owner may accept a proportionate reduction in benefits under the certificate. The society may specify the manner of the election and which alternative is to be presumed if no election is made. 5. Copies of any of the documents mentioned in this section, certified by the secretary or corresponding officer of the society, shall be received in evidence of the terms and conditions of the documents. 6. A certificate shall not be delivered or issued for delivery in this state unless a copy of the form has been filed with the commissioner in the manner provided for like policies issued by life insurers in this state. A life, accident, health, or disability insurance certificate and an annuity certificate issued on or after one year from January 1, 1991, shall meet the standard contract provision requirements not inconsistent with this chapter for like policies issued by life insurers in this state, except that a society may provide for a grace period for payment of premiums of one full month in its certificates. The certificate shall also contain a provision stating the amount of premiums which are payable under the certificate and a provision reciting or setting forth the substance of any sections of the society's laws or regulations in force at the time of issuance of the certificate which, if violated, will result in the termination or reduction of benefits payable under the certificate. If the laws of the society provide for expulsion or suspension of a member, the certificate shall also contain a provision that any member expelled or suspended, except for nonpayment of a premium or within the contestable period for material misrepresentation in the application for membership or insurance, may maintain the certificate in force by continuing payment of the required premium. 7. A benefit contract issued on the life of a person below the society's minimum age for adult membership may provide for transfer of control of ownership to the insured at an age specified in the certificate. A society may require approval of an application for membership in order to effect this transfer, and may provide in all other respects for the regulation, government, and control of such certificates and the rights, obligations, and liabilities incident to, or connected with, the benefit contract. Ownership rights prior to a transfer shall be specified in the certificate. 8. A society may specify the terms and conditions on which benefit contracts may be assigned.
Section History: Recent Form 90 Acts, ch 1148, §20 Referred to in § 512B.2, 512B.22