South Carolina General Assembly
116th Session, 2005-2006
S. 201
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Senator Alexander
Document Path: l:\council\bills\dka\3063dw05.doc
Companion/Similar bill(s): 3309
Introduced in the Senate on January 12, 2005
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance
Summary: Viatical and Life Settlements Act
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
DateBodyAction Description with journal page number
1/12/2005SenateIntroduced and read first time SJ13
1/12/2005SenateReferred to Committee on Banking and InsuranceSJ13
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
1/12/2005
A BILL
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING CHAPTER 64 TO TITLE 38 SO AS TO ENACT THE VIATICAL SETTLEMENTS ACT, TO PROVIDE FOR THE PROTECTION OF CONTRACTUAL AND PROPERTY RIGHTS OF A LIFE INSURANCE POLICY OWNER TO SEEK A VIATICAL SETTLEMENT, TO ESTABLISH CONSUMER PROTECTIONS BY PROVIDING FOR THE REGULATION OF A VIATICAL SETTLEMENT TRANSACTION, TO PROVIDE FOR THE LICENSING AND REGULATION OF A VIATICAL SETTLEMENT PROVIDER AND OTHERS INVOLVED IN A VIATICAL SETTLEMENT TRANSACTION, TO PROVIDE FOR ANTIFRAUD MEASURES, AND TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION1.Title 38 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
“CHAPTER 64
Viatical Settlements Act
Section 386410.This chapter may be cited as the Viatical Settlements Act.
Section 386420.As used in this chapter:
(1)‘Advertising’ means any written, electronic, or printed communication or any communication by means of recorded telephone messages or transmitted on radio, television, the Internet, or similar communications media, including film strips, motion pictures, and videos, published, disseminated, circulated, or placed directly before the public in this State, for the purpose of creating an interest in or inducing a person to sell a policy pursuant to a viatical settlement contract.
(2)‘Business of viatical settlements’ means an activity involved in, but not limited to, the offering, solicitation, negotiation, procurement, effectuation, purchasing, investing, financing, monitoring, tracking, underwriting, selling, transferring, assigning, pledging, hypothecating, or in any other manner of viatical settlement contracts.
(3)‘Chronically ill’ means:
(a)being unable to perform at least two activities of daily living including, but not limited to, eating, toileting, transferring, bathing, dressing, or continence;
(b)requiring substantial supervision to protect the individual from threats to health and safety due to severe cognitive impairment; or
(c)having a level of disability similar to that described in subitem (a) as determined by the Director of Health and Human Services.
(4)(a)‘Financing entity’ means an underwriter, placement agent, lender, purchaser of securities, purchaser of a policy or certificate from a viatical settlement provider, credit enhancer, or an entity that has a direct ownership in a policy that is the subject of a viatical settlement contract, but:
(i)whose principal activity related to the transaction is providing funds to effect the viatical settlement or purchase of one or more purchased policies; and
(ii)who has an agreement in writing with one or more licensed viatical settlement providers to finance the acquisition of viatical settlement contracts.
(b)‘Financing entity’ does not include a nonaccredited investor.
(5)‘Fraudulent viatical settlement act’ includes:
(a)acts or omissions committed by a person who, knowingly or with intent to defraud, for the purpose of depriving another of property or for pecuniary gain, commits, or permits its employees or its agents to engage in acts including:
(i)presenting, causing to be presented, or preparing with knowledge or belief that it will be presented to or by a viatical settlement provider, financing entity, insurer, insurance producer, or another person, false material information, or concealing material information, as part of, in support of, or concerning a fact material to one or more of the following:
(A)an application for the issuance of a viatical settlement contract or policy;
(B)the underwriting of a viatical settlement contract or policy;
(C)a claim for payment or benefit pursuant to a viatical settlement contract or policy;
(D)premiums paid on a policy;
(E)payments and changes in ownership or beneficiary made in accordance with the terms of a viatical settlement contract or policy;
(F)the reinstatement or conversion of a policy;
(G)in the solicitation, offer, effectuation, or sale of a viatical settlement contract or policy;
(H)the issuance of written evidence of viatical settlement contract or insurance; or
(I)a financing transaction;
(ii)employing any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud related to purchased policies;
(b)in the furtherance of a fraud or to prevent the detection of a fraud a person commits or permits its employees or its agents to:
(i)remove, conceal, alter, destroy, or sequester from the director the assets or records of a licensee or other person engaged in the business of viatical settlements;
(ii)misrepresent or conceal the financial condition of a licensee, financing entity, insurer, or other person;
(iii)transact the business of viatical settlements in violation of laws requiring a license, certificate of authority, or other legal authority for the transaction of the business of viatical settlements; or
(iv)file with the director or the chief insurance regulatory official of another jurisdiction a document containing false information or otherwise conceals information about a material fact from the director;
(c)embezzlement, theft, misappropriation, or conversion of monies, funds, premiums, credits, or other property of a viatical settlement provider, insurer, insured, seller, policyowner, or another person engaged in the business of viatical settlements or insurance;
(d)recklessly entering into, negotiating, otherwise dealing in a viatical settlement contract, the subject of which is a policy that was obtained by presenting false information concerning a fact material to the policy, or by concealing, for the purpose of misleading another, information concerning a fact material to the policy, where the seller or the seller’s agent intended to defraud the insurance company that issued the policy. ‘Recklessly’ means engaging in the conduct in conscious and clearly unjustifiable disregard of a substantial likelihood of the existence of the relevant facts or risks, this disregard involving a gross deviation from acceptable standards of conduct; or
(e)attempting to commit, assist, aid, or abet in the commission of, or conspiracy to commit the acts or omissions specified in this subsection.
(6)‘Life insurance producer’ means a person licensed as a resident or nonresident insurance producer pursuant to Section 384310 who has received qualification for life insurance coverage pursuant to Section 384375(1).
(7)‘Person’ means a natural person or a legal entity including, but not limited to, an individual, partnership, limited liability company, association, trust, or corporation.
(8)‘Policy’ means an individual or group policy, group certificate, contract, or arrangement of life insurance affecting the rights of a resident of this State or bearing a reasonable relation to this State, regardless of whether delivered or issued for delivery in this State.
(9)‘Purchased policy’ means a policy that has been acquired by a viatical settlement provider pursuant to a viatical settlement contract.
(10)‘Related provider trust’ means a titling trust or other trust established by a licensed viatical settlement provider or a financing entity for the sole purpose of holding the ownership or beneficial interest in purchased policies in connection with a financing transaction. The trust shall have a written agreement with the licensed viatical settlement provider under which the licensed viatical settlement provider is responsible for ensuring compliance with all statutory and regulatory requirements and under which the trust agrees to make all records and files related to viatical settlement transactions available to the director as if those records and files were maintained directly by the licensed viatical settlement provider.
(11)‘Seller’ means the owner of a policy, who is a resident of this State, who enters or seeks to enter into a viatical settlement contract. For the purposes of this chapter, a seller is not limited to an owner of a policy insuring the life of an individual with a terminal or chronic illness or condition except where specifically addressed. Seller does not include:
(a)a licensee as provided by this chapter, including a life insurance producer;
(b)an accredited investor or qualified institutional buyer as defined, respectively, in Regulation D, Rule 501 or Rule 144A of the Federal Securities Act of 1933, as amended;
(c)a financing entity;
(d)a special purpose entity; or
(e)a related provider trust.
(12)‘Viatical settlement contract’ means a written agreement establishing the terms under which compensation or anything of value is paid, which compensation or value is less than the expected death benefit of the policy, in return for the seller’s assignment, transfer, sale, devise, or bequest of the death benefit or ownership of any portion of the policy. A viatical settlement contract also includes a contract for a loan or other financing transaction with a seller secured primarily by an individual or group life insurance policy, other than a loan by a life insurance company pursuant to the terms of the policy, or a loan secured by the cash value of a policy. A viatical settlement contract includes an agreement with a seller to transfer ownership or change the beneficiary designation at a later date regardless of the date that compensation is paid to the seller. A viatical settlement contract does not mean a written agreement entered into between a seller and a person having an insurable interest in the insured’s life.
(13)‘Viatical settlement provider’ means a person, other than a seller, who enters into or effectuates a viatical settlement contract. Viatical settlement provider does not include:
(a)a bank, savings bank, savings and loan association, credit union, or other licensed lending institution that takes an assignment of a policy as collateral for a loan;
(b)the issuer of a policy providing accelerated benefits pursuant to the policy;
(c)an authorized or eligible insurer that provides stop loss coverage to a viatical settlement provider, financing entity, special purpose entity, or related provider trust;
(d)a natural person who enters into or effectuates no more than one agreement in a calendar year for the transfer of policies for any value less than the expected death benefit;
(e)a financing entity;
(f)a special purpose entity;
(g)a related provider trust; or
(h)an accredited investor or qualified institutional buyer as defined, respectively, in Regulation D, Rule 501 or Rule 144A of the Federal Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and who purchases a purchased policy from a viatical settlement provider.
(14)‘Special purpose entity’ means a corporation, partnership, trust, limited liability company, or other similar entity formed only to provide either, directly or indirectly, access to institutional capital markets for a financing entity or licensed viatical settlement provider.
(15)‘Terminally ill’ means having an illness or sickness that reasonably is expected to result in death in twentyfour months or less.
Section 386430.(A)(1)A person shall not act on behalf of a viator or otherwise negotiate viatical settlement contracts between a viator and one or more viatical settlement providers without first having been licensed as a life insurance producer for at least one year. For purposes of this section, the one year requirement is deemed to be satisfied if such person has been licensed as a resident life insurance producer in his or her home state for at least one year.
(2)A life insurance producer, as defined in Section 386420(6), and who meets the requirements of this subsection (A) must be permitted to negotiate, as defined in Section 38120(28.3), viatical settlement contracts between a seller and one or more viatical settlement providers. Not later than thirty days from the first day of negotiating a viatical settlement on behalf of a seller, the producer shall notify the director of the activity on a form prescribed by the director, and shall pay any applicable fees to be determined by the director. Notification must include an acknowledgment by the producer that he operates in accordance with this chapter.
(3)Notwithstanding item (1) of this subsection, a person licensed as an attorney, certified public accountant or a financial planner accredited by a nationally recognized accreditation agency, who is retained to represent the viator and whose compensation is not paid directly or indirectly by the viatical settlement provider may negotiate viatical settlement contracts without having to obtain a license as a life insurance producer.
(B)(1)A person may not operate as a viatical settlement provider without first obtaining a viatical settlement provider license from the director of the state of residence of the seller.
(2)Application for a viatical settlement provider license must be made to the director by the applicant on a form prescribed by the director, and an application must be accompanied by the fees to be determined by the director. An application for a viatical settlement provider license pursuant to the provisions of this section must be approved or denied by the director within sixty calendar days following receipt of a completed application by the director. The director shall notify applicants that the application is complete. An application for license is considered approved after that time.
(3)A license may be renewed from year to year on the anniversary date upon payment of the annual renewal fees to be determined by the director. Failure to pay the fees by the renewal date results in expiration of the license.
(4)Notwithstanding items (2) and (3) of this subsection, the license and renewal fees for a viatical settlement provider license may not exceed that established for an insurer as provided in Section 38710.
(5)The applicant for a viatical settlement provider license shall provide information on forms prescribed by the director. The director has authority, at any time, to require the applicant to fully disclose the identity of all stockholders, partners, officers, members, and employees, except stockholders owning fewer than five percent of the shares of an applicant whose shares are publicly traded, and the director may refuse to issue a license in the name of a legal entity if not satisfied that any officer, employee, stockholder, partner, or member of it who may materially influence the applicant’s conduct meets the standards of this chapter.
(6)A license issued to a legal entity authorizes all partners, officers, members, and designated employees to act as viatical settlement providers, as applicable, under the license, and all those persons must be named in the application and any supplements to the application.
(7)Upon the filing of an application and the payment of the license fee, the director shall make an investigation of each applicant for a license as a viatical settlement provider and issue a license if the director finds that the applicant:
(a)has provided a detailed plan of operation;
(b)is competent and trustworthy and intends to act in good faith in the capacity involved by the license for which he has applied;
(c)has a good business reputation and has had experience, training, or education so as to be qualified in the business for the license in which he has applied;
(d)if a legal entity, provides a certificate of good standing from the state of its domicile; and
(e)has provided an antifraud plan that meets the requirements of Section 3864120(G).
(8)The director may not issue a license to a nonresident applicant, unless a written designation of an agent for service of process is filed and maintained with the director or the applicant has filed with the director, the applicant’s written irrevocable consent that any action against the applicant may be commenced against the applicant by service of process on the director.
(9)A viatical settlement provider shall provide to the director new or revised information about officers, ten percent or more stockholders, partners, directors, members, or designated employees within thirty days of the change.
Section 386440.(A)The director may refuse to issue, suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew the license of a viatical settlement provider if the director finds that:
(1)there was any material misrepresentation in the application for the license;
(2)the licensee or any officer, partner, member, or key management personnel has been convicted of fraudulent or dishonest practices, is subject to a final administrative action, or is otherwise shown to be untrustworthy or incompetent;
(3)demonstrates a pattern of unreasonable payments to sellers;
(4)the licensee or any officer, partner, member, or key management personnel has been found guilty of, or has pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to, any felony, or to a misdemeanor involving fraud or moral turpitude, regardless of whether a judgment of conviction has been entered by the court;
(5)has entered into any viatical settlement contract that has not been approved pursuant to this chapter;
(6)has failed to honor contractual obligations set out in a viatical settlement contract;
(7)the licensee no longer meets the requirements for initial licensure;
(8)has assigned, transferred, or pledged a purchased policy to a person other than a viatical settlement provider licensed in this State, an accredited investor or qualified institutional buyer as defined, respectively, in Regulation D, Rule 501 or Rule 144A of the Federal Securities Act of 1933, as amended, financing entity, special purpose entity, or related provider trust; or
(9)the viatical settlement provider licensee or any officer, partner, member, or key management personnel has violated a provision of this chapter.
(B)If the director denies a license application or suspends, revokes, or refuses to renew the license of a viatical settlement provider, the director shall conduct a hearing in accordance with Article 3, Chapter 23, Title 1.
Section 386450.A person may not use a viatical settlement contract or provide to a seller a disclosure statement form in this State unless filed with and approved by the director. The director shall disapprove a viatical settlement contract form or disclosure statement form if, in the director’s opinion, the contract or provisions contained in it are unreasonable, contrary to the interests of the public, or otherwise misleading or unfair to the seller.
Section 386460.(A)Each viatical settlement provider shall file with the director by March first of each year an annual statement containing information as the director prescribes by regulation. This information is limited to only those transactions where the seller is a resident of this State and does not include individual transaction data regarding the business of viatical settlements or data which compromises the privacy of personal, financial, and health information of the seller or insured.
(B)Except as otherwise allowed or required by law, a viatical settlement provider, life insurance producer, information bureau, rating agency or company, or another person with actual knowledge of a seller or insured’s identity, may not disclose that identity as a seller or insured, or the seller’s or insured’s financial or medical information to another person unless the disclosure is:
(1)necessary to effect a viatical settlement contract between the seller and a viatical settlement provider and the seller or insured or both, as may be required, have provided prior written consent to the disclosure;
(2)provided in response to an investigation or examination by the director or another governmental officer or agency or pursuant to the requirements of Section 3864120;
(3)a term of or condition to the transfer of a policy by one viatical settlement provider to another viatical settlement provider;