Vermont Statutes Title 27 Sec. 1470
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 27 Sec. 1470
- Administrator: means the Vermont State Treasurer. See
- 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.
- Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
- following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Insurance company: means an association, corporation, or fraternal or mutual-benefit organization, whether or not for profit, engaged in the business of providing life endowments, annuities, or insurance, including accident, burial, casualty, credit-life, contract-performance, dental, disability, fidelity, fire, health, hospitalization, illness, life, malpractice, marine, mortgage, surety, wage-protection, and workers' compensation insurance. See
- Owner: means a person that has a legal, beneficial, or equitable interest in property subject to this chapter or the person's legal representative when acting on behalf of the owner. See
- Security: means :
- State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U. See
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
§ 1470. Knowledge of death of insured or annuitant
(a) In this section, “Death Master File” means the U.S. Social Security Administration Death Master File or other database or service that is at least as comprehensive as the U.S. Social Security Administration Death Master File for determining that an individual reportedly has died.
(b) With respect to a life or endowment insurance policy or annuity contract for which an amount is owed on proof of death, but which has not matured by proof of death of the insured or annuitant, the company has knowledge of the death of an insured or annuitant when:
(1) the company receives a death certificate or court order determining that the insured or annuitant has died;
(2) due diligence, performed as required pursuant to 8 V.S.A. § part 3, to maintain contact with the insured or annuitant or determine whether the insured or annuitant has died, validates the death of the insured or annuitant;
(3) the company conducts a comparison for any purpose between a Death Master File and the names of some or all of the company’s insureds or annuitants, finds a match that provides notice that the insured or annuitant has died, and validates the death;
(4) the Administrator or the Administrator’s agent conducts a comparison for the purpose of finding matches during an examination conducted under subchapter 10 of this chapter between a Death Master File and the names of some or all of the company’s insureds or annuitants, finds a match that provides notice that the insured or annuitant has died, and the company validates the death; or
(5) the company:
(A) receives notice of the death of the insured or annuitant from an administrator, beneficiary, policy owner, relative of the insured, or trustee or from a personal representative, guardian, executor, or other legal representative of the insured’s or annuitant’s estate; and
(B) validates the death of the insured or annuitant.
(c) The following rules apply under this section:
(1) A Death Master File match under subdivision (b)(3) or (4) of this section occurs if the criteria for an exact or partial match are satisfied as provided by:
(A) law of this State other than this chapter;
(B) a rule or policy adopted by the Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation pursuant to 3 Vt. Stat. Ann. chapter 25; or
(C) section 1472 of this title.
(2) The Death Master File match does not constitute proof of death for the purpose of submission to an insurance company of a claim by a beneficiary, annuitant, or owner of the policy or contract for an amount due under an insurance policy or annuity contract.
(3) The Death Master File match or validation of the insured’s or annuitant’s death does not alter the requirements for a beneficiary, annuitant, or owner of the policy or contract to make a claim to receive proceeds under the terms of the policy or contract.
(4) If no provision in 8 V.S.A. § part 3 establishes a time for validation of a death of an insured or annuitant, the insurance company shall make a good faith effort using other available records and information to validate the death and document the effort taken not later than 90 days after the insurance company has notice of the death.
(d) This chapter does not affect the determination of the extent to which an insurance company before January 1, 2021, had knowledge of the death of an insured or annuitant or was required to conduct a Death Master File comparison to determine whether amounts owed by the company on a life or endowment insurance policy or annuity contract were presumed abandoned or unclaimed. (Added 2019, No. 93 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. Jan. 1, 2021.)