General Assembly		Raised Bill No. 853
January Session, 2015		LCO No. 2933
		*02933_______INS*
Referred to Committee on INSURANCE AND REAL ESTATE
Introduced by:
(INS)

AN ACT CONCERNING ACCELERATED BENEFITS OF LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 38a-457 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015):

(a) As used in this section:

(1) "Accelerated benefits" means benefits payable under a life insurance policy sold in this state: (A) During the lifetime of the insured, in a lump sum or in periodic payments, as specified in the policy, (B) upon the occurrence of a qualifying event, as defined in the policy, and certified by a physician or an advanced practice registered nurse who is licensed under the laws of a state or territory of the United States, or such other foreign or domestic jurisdiction as the Insurance Commissioner may approve, and (C) [which] that reduce the death benefits otherwise payable under the life insurance policy.

(2) "Insurance policy" or "policy" means an insurance policy or certificate or rider or endorsement thereto.

(3) "Qualifying event" means (A) a medically determinable condition suffered by the insured that can be expected to result in death in a relatively short period of time, such as twelve months and may include, but is not limited to, coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, stroke, kidney failure or liver disease, (B) a medical condition that would, in the absence of extensive or extraordinary medical treatment, result in death in a relatively short period of time, such as twelve months, or (C) a medically determinable condition suffered by the insured [, which] that has resulted in the insured being considered [a] chronically ill, [individual for the purposes of Section 101(g) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the United States, as amended from time to time, and which has caused the insured to be confined for at least six months in such insured's place of residence or in an institution that provides necessary care or treatment of an injury, illness or loss of functional capacity, and for which it has been medically determined that such insured is expected to remain confined in such place of residence or institution until death] as defined in section 38a-465.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1	October 1, 2015	38a-457(a)

Statement of Purpose:

To redefine "qualifying event" for purposes of accelerated benefits of a life insurance policy.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]