[Draft 1] - Life Insurance Claims Settlement

[Simone]

This is to go around GA180, but an alternative is to repeal 180 altogether.

The World Assembly (WA),

Noting that many sapient individuals purchase life insurance policies (“policy”) from insurers doing business in the WA (“WA insurers”) to provide for their loved ones;

Anxious for beneficiaries of a policy to avoid difficulties making claims on a policy at what is likely to be a difficult time for them;

The WA hereby enacts as follows:

1. Definitions
   1. “Authority” means a government agency designated by a WA state to enforce and interpret this resolution;
   2. “Insured individual” means any sapient individual who is insured by a policy.
   3. “Policyholder” means the holder of the policy.
   4. “FISA” means the WA Financial Services Authority.
2. Death with dignity (DWD). DWD means a process by which a sapient individual patient (“patient”) chooses to end their lives in a dignified manner, provided the said patient has been determined according to the laws of that WA state to suffer from an incurable physical ailment:
   1. that will directly or indirectly lead to their death, or;
   2. that will permanently substantially reduce their quality of life.
3. Severability of benefits.
   1. If a policy bundles multiple benefits into a single policy, such as (as an example) a death benefit, a benefit for funeral expenses, and participation in the investment returns of the insurer, each benefit must be separately priced and disclosed in the policy, and in any periodical updates on the performance of the policy.
   2. Each benefit is severable both in the amount paid as premiums if a change in coverage is desired and in the event of payment of various benefits.
   3. Any benefits that are not necessarily considered “life insurance” by an authority, such as cash benefits for hospitalization, are also severable pursuant to this clause.
4. Suicide.
   1. If an insured individual is conclusively deemed by an authority to have died by suicide, all other benefits except the death benefit, such as any savings and investments made through the policy, shall remain fully payable to any designated beneficiaries of the insured individual.
   2. All death benefits of an insurance policy shall remain fully payable, provided that the insurer is not a state insurer as defined in clause 6.
   3. Death-related benefits such as benefits for funeral and burial expenses remain fully payable.
5. Participation in DWD.
   1. A patient who chooses to participate in DWD and dies as a result shall be deemed to have died of the incurable physical ailment that afflicted the patient, and not of suicide (whether physician-assisted or otherwise).
   2. All death benefits of an insurance policy shall remain fully payable, provided that the insurer is subject to clause 6.
6. State insurers.
   1. An insurer partly or wholly owned by a WA state, or operating as an agency of a WA state, is not considered a “state insurer” for the purposes of WA law.
   2. The state is considered an insurer only if the WA state’s sovereign or head of state is directly acting as an insurer.
7. Proof of death.
   1. The issuance of a valid proof of death (or presumed death) by an authorized entity of the WA state (or by a sub-committee of the WA) shall be conclusive evidence for the purpose of making a claim on a life insurance policy.
   2. All claims by a beneficiary on a life insurance policy shall be paid out promptly by an insurer.
   3. All disputes over claims shall also be promptly handled by the insurer, or, in the event that the dispute is escalated, promptly handled by the arbitration, judicial or other legal authorities of that WA state.
8. Role of FISA.
   1. Each life insurance policy issued by an WA insurer shall specify the jurisdiction governing the interpretation of that policy. That said jurisdiction must be a WA state.
   2. FISA is responsible for adjudicating any international disputes, such as between (say) insured individuals in one WA state, versus insurers that are regulated by another WA state.
   3. FISA is also required to provide any assistance that may be necessary in the event of making claims against insurers from non-WA states, or claims by the beneficiaries of policies of deceased individuals issued by WA insurers.