Missouri Laws 376.2051 – Definitions
As used in sections 376.2050 to 376.2053, the following terms mean:
(1) “Asymmetric conduct”, an insurer’s use of the death master file prior to January 1, 2018, in connection with searching for information regarding whether annuitants under the insurer’s contracts might be deceased, but not in connection with whether the insureds or account owners under its policies or retained asset accounts might be deceased;
Terms Used In Missouri Laws 376.2051
- Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
- Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of the statutes, mean the section next preceding or next following that in which the reference is made, unless some other section is expressly designated in the reference. See Missouri Laws 1.020
- person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Missouri Laws 1.020
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- United States: includes such district and territories. See Missouri Laws 1.020
(2) “Contract”, an annuity contract. The term contract shall not include an annuity used to fund an employment-based retirement plan or program in which the insurer does not perform the record-keeping services or the insurer is not committed by terms of the annuity contract to pay death benefits to the beneficiaries of specific plan participants;
(3) “Death master file”, the United States Social Security Administration’s death master file or any other database or service that is at least as comprehensive as the United States Social Security Administration’s death master file for determining that a person has reportedly died;
(4) “Death master file match”, a search of the death master file that results in a match of the Social Security number or the name and date of birth of an insured, annuitant, or retained asset account holder;
(5) “Policy”, any policy or certificate of life insurance that provides a death benefit. The term policy shall not include:
(a) Any policy or certificate of life insurance that provides a death benefit under:
a. An employee benefit plan, subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as defined by 29 U.S.C. § 1002(3), as periodically amended; or
b. Any federal employee benefit program;
(b) Any policy or certificate of life insurance that is used to fund a preneed funeral contract or arrangement;
(c) Any policy or certificate of credit life or accidental death insurance; or
(d) Any policy issued to a group master policyholder for which the insurer does not provide record-keeping services;
(6) “Record-keeping services”, those circumstances under which the insurer has agreed with a group policy or contract customer to be responsible for obtaining, maintaining, and administering in its own or its agents’ systems at least the following information about each individual insured under an insured’s group insurance contract, or a line of coverage thereunder:
(a) Social Security number or name and date of birth;
(b) Beneficiary designation information;
(c) Coverage eligibility;
(d) Benefit amount; and
(e) Premium payment status;
(7) “Retained asset account”, any mechanism whereby the settlement of proceeds payable under a policy or contract is accomplished by the insurer or an entity acting on behalf of the insurer depositing the proceeds into an account with check or draft writing privileges, where those proceeds are retained by the insurer or its agent, under a supplementary contract not involving annuity benefits other than death benefits.