(a) (1) Supplemental benefits that operate to safeguard life insurance contracts against lapse are defined as a waiver of premium benefit or a waiver of monthly deduction benefit, as applicable, in which the insurer waives the premium or monthly deduction for a life insurance contract when the insured becomes totally disabled, as defined by the supplemental benefit, and where the waiver continues until the end of the insured’s disability, or for the period specified by the supplemental benefit, consistent with paragraph (5).

(2) For purposes of this subdivision, total disability shall not be less favorable to the insured than the following:

Ask an insurance law question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

(A) During the first 24 months of total disability, the insured is unable to perform with reasonable continuity the substantial and material duties of their job due to sickness or bodily injury.

(B) After the first 24 months of total disability, the insured, due to sickness or bodily injury, is unable to engage with reasonable continuity in any other job in which they could reasonably be expected to perform satisfactorily in light of their age, education, training, experience, station in life, or physical and mental capacity.

(3) The definition of total disability may also include presumptive total disability, such as the insured’s total and permanent loss of sight of both eyes, hearing of both ears, speech, the use of both hands, both feet, or one hand and one foot.

(4) The insurer may require total disability to continue for an uninterrupted period of time specified by the supplemental benefit, or the insurer may allow separate periods of disability to be combined.

(5) The waiver of premium or monthly deduction benefit shall continue for the period specified by the supplemental benefit, but shall not be less favorable to the insured than the following:

(A) If the insured’s total disability begins before the insured attains 60 years of age, the insurer shall waive all premiums or monthly deductions due for the period that the insured continues to be totally disabled, except as follows:

(i) For group life insurance policies, if the insured’s total disability begins before the insured attains 60 years of age, the insurer shall waive all premiums or monthly deductions due for the period of total disability up to 65 years of age. This subdivision does not preclude the insurer from extending a supplemental benefit for longer periods.

(ii) When a renewal is offered for a group life insurance policy that was issued prior to January 1, 2017, and contains a supplemental benefit described in this subparagraph, the insurer shall offer to renew the policy with a continuation of the in-force supplemental benefit, and may concurrently offer the group policyholder the option to change the supplemental benefit as described in clause (i).

(B) If the insured’s total disability begins after the age specified in subparagraph (A), the insurer shall waive all premiums or monthly deductions due for the period that the insured continues to be totally disabled up to 65 years of age, except as follows:

(i) For group life insurance policies, if the insured’s total disability begins on or after the date the insured attains 60 years of age, the insurer is not required to waive premiums or monthly deductions. This subdivision does not preclude the insurer from extending a supplemental benefit for longer periods.

(ii) When a renewal is offered for a group life insurance policy that was issued prior to January 1, 2017, and contains a supplemental benefit described in this subparagraph, the insurer shall offer to renew the policy with a continuation of the in-force supplemental benefit, and may concurrently offer the group policyholder the option to change the supplemental benefit as described in clause (i).

(6) In addition to the permissible exclusions listed in subdivision (g) of Section 10271, the insurer may exclude a total disability occurring after the policy anniversary or supplemental contract anniversary, as applicable and as defined by the supplemental benefit, on which the insured attains a specified age of no less than 65 years.

(b) “Special surrender benefit” means a “waiver of surrender charge benefit” wherein the insurer waives the surrender charge usually charged for a withdrawal of funds from the cash value of a life insurance contract or the account value of an annuity contract if the owner, insured, or annuitant, as applicable, meets any of the following criteria:

(1) The individual develops a terminal illness, as defined in subdivision (d).

(2) The individual is receiving, as prescribed by a physician, registered nurse, or licensed social worker, home care or community-based services, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 10232.9, or is confined in a skilled nursing facility, convalescent nursing home, or extended care facility, which shall not be defined more restrictively than as in the Medicare program, or is confined in a residential care facility or residential care facility for the elderly, as defined in the Health and Safety Code. Out-of-state providers of services shall be defined as comparable in licensure and staffing requirements to California providers.

(3) The individual has any medical condition that would, in the absence of treatment, result in death within a limited period of time, as defined by the supplemental benefit, but that shall not be restricted to a period of less than six months.

(4) (A) The individual is totally disabled, as follows:

(i) During the first 24 months of total disability, the owner, insured, or annuitant, as applicable, is unable to perform with reasonable continuity the substantial and material duties of their job due to sickness or bodily injury.

(ii) After the first 24 months of total disability, the owner, insured, or annuitant, as applicable, due to sickness or bodily injury, is unable to engage with reasonable continuity in any other job in which they could reasonably be expected to perform satisfactorily in light of their age, education, training, experience, station in life, or physical and mental capacity.

(B) The definition of total disability may also include presumptive total disability, such as the insured’s total and permanent loss of sight of both eyes, hearing of both ears, speech, the use of both hands, both feet, or one hand and one foot.

(C) The insurer may require the total disability to continue for an uninterrupted period of time specified by the supplemental benefit, or the insurer may allow separate periods of disability to be combined.

(5) The individual has a chronic illness as defined in either subparagraph (A) or (B):

(A) Either of the following:

(i) Impairment in performing two out of seven activities of daily living, as set forth in subdivisions (a) and (g) of Section 10232.8, meaning the insured needs human assistance, or needs continual substantial supervision.

(ii) The insured has an impairment of cognitive ability, meaning a deterioration or loss of intellectual capacity due to mental illness or disease, including Alzheimer’s disease or related illnesses, that requires continual supervision to protect oneself or others.

(B) Either of the following:

(i) Impairment in performing two out of six activities of daily living as described in subdivisions (b), (d), (e), and (f) of Section 10232.8 due to a loss of functional capacity to perform the activity.

(ii) Impairment of cognitive ability, meaning the insured needs substantial supervision due to severe cognitive impairment, as described in subdivisions (b), (d), and (e) of Section 10232.8.

(6) The individual has become involuntarily or voluntarily unemployed.

(c) “Supplemental benefit” means a rider to or provision in a life insurance policy, certificate, or annuity contract that provides a benefit as set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 10271.

(d) “Terminal illness benefit” means a provision, endorsement, or rider added to a life insurance policy that provides for the advance payment of any part of the death proceeds, payable upon the occurrence of a terminal illness. For the purposes of this chapter, “terminal illness” means a medical condition in which the owner’s, insured’s, or annuitant’s life expectancy is expected to be less than or equal to a limited period of time that shall not be restricted to a period of less than 12 months or greater than 24 months.

(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 627, Sec. 14. (AB 1511) Effective January 1, 2022.)