TITLE 41

INSURANCE

CHAPTER 19

LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES AND ANNUITY CONTRACTS

41-1951.  Definitions. In sections 41-1950 through 41-1965, Idaho Code:

(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, assign, devise, bequest or transfer the death benefit or ownership of a life insurance policy pursuant to a life settlement contract.

(2)  "Business of life settlements" means an activity involved in, but not limited to, the offering to enter into, soliciting, negotiating, procuring or effectuating a life settlement contract. The transaction of the business of life settlements is within the scope of the transaction of the business of insurance as provided in section 41-112, Idaho Code.

(3)  "Chronically ill" means:

(a)  Being unable to perform at least two (2) activities of daily living such as eating, toileting, transferring, bathing, dressing or continence; or

(b)  Requiring substantial supervision to protect the individual from threats to health and safety due to severe cognitive impairment.

(4)  "Financing entity" means an underwriter, placement agent, lender, purchaser of securities, purchaser of a policy or certificate from a life settlement provider, credit enhancer or any entity that has a direct ownership in a policy or certificate that is the subject of a life settlement contract, but:

(a)  Whose principal activity related to the transaction is providing funds to effect the life settlement or purchase of one (1) or more settled policies; and

(b)  Who has an agreement in writing with one (1) or more licensed life settlement providers to finance the acquisition of life settlement contracts.

"Financing entity" does not include a nonaccredited investor. An "accredited investor" is defined by rule 501 of regulation D, 17 CFR 230.501(a).

(5)  "Life insurance producer" means any person licensed in this state as a resident or nonresident insurance producer who has received qualification or authority for life insurance coverage or a life line of coverage pursuant to section 41-1008, Idaho Code.

(6)  "Life settlement broker" or "broker" means a person who, working exclusively on behalf of an owner and for a fee, commission or other valuable consideration, offers or attempts to negotiate life settlement contracts between an owner and one (1) or more life settlement providers or one (1) or more life settlement brokers. Notwithstanding the manner in which the life settlement broker is compensated, a life settlement broker is deemed to represent only the owner, and not the insurer or the life settlement provider, and owes a fiduciary duty to the owner to act according to the owner’s instructions and in the best interest of the owner. Nothing in this definition reduces or impairs the scope of the definitions in section 30-14-102, Idaho Code, including, but not limited to, agent, broker-dealer, investment adviser, and investment adviser representative. The term does not include an attorney, certified public accountant or a financial planner accredited by a nationally recognized accreditation agency who is retained to represent the owner and whose compensation is not paid directly or indirectly by the life settlement provider or purchaser.

(7)  "Life settlement contract" means an agreement between an owner and a life settlement provider or any affiliate, as that term is defined in section 41-3802(1), Idaho Code, of the life settlement provider establishing the terms under which compensation or anything of value is or will be paid, which compensation or value is less than the expected death benefits of the policy, in return for the owner’s present or future assignment, transfer, sale, hypothecation, devise or bequest of the death benefit or ownership of any portion of the insurance policy or certificate of insurance. Nothing in this definition reduces or impairs the scope of the definition of security contained in section 30-14-102(28), Idaho Code.

(a)  "Life settlement contract" includes a premium finance loan made for a life insurance policy on or before the date of issuance of the policy where one (1) or more of the following conditions apply:

(i)   The loan proceeds are not used solely to pay premiums for the policy and any costs or expenses incurred by the lender or the borrower in connection with the financing;

(ii)  The owner or the insured receives on the date of the premium finance loan a guarantee of a future life settlement value of the policy; or

(iii) The owner or the insured agrees on the date of the premium finance loan to sell the policy or any portion of its death benefit on any date following the issuance of the policy.

(b)  "Life settlement contract" includes the transfer, for compensation or value, of ownership or beneficial interest in a trust or other entity that owns such policy if the trust or other person was formed or availed of for the principal purpose of acquiring one (1) or more life insurance policies which life insurance contract insures the life of a person residing in this state.

(c)  "Life settlement contract" does not include any of the following:

(i)    A policy loan or accelerated death benefit made by the insurer pursuant to the policy’s terms;

(ii)   A loan, the proceeds of which are used solely to pay:

(A)  Premiums for the policy; and

(B)  The costs of the loan, including, without limitation, interest, arrangement fees, utilization fees and similar fees, closing costs, legal fees and expenses, trustee fees and expenses, and third party collateral provider fees and expenses, including fees payable to letter of credit issuers;

(iii)  A loan made by a bank or other licensed financial institution in which the lender takes an interest in a life insurance policy solely to secure repayment of a loan or, if there is a default on the loan and the policy is transferred, the transfer of such a policy by the lender, provided that neither the default itself nor the transfer of the policy in connection with the default is pursuant to an agreement or understanding with any other person for the purpose of evading regulation under sections 41-1950 through 41-1965, Idaho Code;

(iv)   A loan made by a lender that does not violate the Idaho credit code, provided that the premium finance loan is not described in paragraph (a) of this subsection;

(v)    An agreement where all the parties are closely related to the insured by blood or law or have a lawful substantial economic interest in the continued life, health and bodily safety of the person insured, or are trusts established primarily for the benefit of such parties;

(vi)   Any designation, consent or agreement by an insured who is an employee of an employer in connection with the purchase by the employer, or trust established by the employer, of life insurance on the life of the employee;

(vii)  A bona fide business succession planning arrangement:

(A)  Between one (1) or more shareholders in a corporation or between a corporation and one (1) or more of its shareholders or one (1) or more trusts established by its shareholders;

(B)  Between one (1) or more partners in a partnership or between a partnership and one (1) or more of its partners or one (1) or more trusts established by its partners; or

(C)  Between one (1) or more members in a limited liability company or between a limited liability company and one (1) or more of its members or one (1) or more trusts established by its members;

(viii) An agreement entered into by a service recipient, or a trust established by the service recipient, and a service provider, or a trust established by the service provider, who performs significant services for the service recipient’s trade or business; or

(ix)   Any other contract, transaction or arrangement exempted from the definition of life settlement contract by the director based on a determination that the contract, transaction or arrangement is not of the type intended to be regulated by sections 41-1950 through 41-1965, Idaho Code.

(8)  "Life settlement provider" or "provider" means a person, other than an owner, who enters into or effectuates a life settlement contract with an owner resident in this state. Nothing in this definition reduces or impairs the scope of the definitions of section 30-14-102, Idaho Code, including, but not limited to, agent, broker-dealer, investment adviser, and investment adviser representative. "Life 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 life insurance policy solely as collateral for a loan;

(b)  A premium finance company making premium finance loans that takes an assignment of a life insurance policy solely as collateral for a loan;

(c)  The insurer of the life insurance policy;

(d)  An authorized or eligible insurer that provides stop loss coverage or financial guaranty insurance to a life settlement provider, purchaser, financing entity, special purpose entity or related provider trust;

(e)  A financing entity;

(f)  A special purpose entity;

(g)  A related provider trust; or

(h)  Any other person that the director determines is not the type of person intended to be covered by the definition of life settlement provider.

(9)  "Owner" means the owner of a life insurance policy or a certificate holder under a group policy who resides in this state and enters or seeks to enter into a life settlement contract. For the purposes of sections 41-1950 through 41-1965, Idaho Code, an owner shall not be limited to an owner of a life insurance policy or a certificate holder under a group policy insuring the life of an individual with a terminal or chronic illness or condition except where specifically addressed.

(a)  If there is more than one (1) owner on a single policy and the owners are residents of different states, the transaction shall be governed by the law of the state in which the owner having the largest percentage ownership resides or, if the owners hold equal ownership, the state of residence of one (1) owner agreed upon in writing by all the owners.

(b)  "Owner" does not include:

(i)   A licensee under sections 41-1950 through 41-1965, Idaho Code, including a life insurance producer acting as a life settlement broker pursuant to sections 41-1950 through 41-1965, Idaho Code;

(ii)  Qualified institutional buyer as defined, respectively, in rule 144A, 17 CFR 230.144A, promulgated under the federal securities act of 1933, 15 USC section 77a et seq., as amended;

(iii) A financing entity;

(iv)  A special purpose entity; or

(v)   A related provider trust.

(10) "Policy" means an individual or group policy, group certificate, contract or arrangement of life insurance owned by a resident of this state, regardless of whether delivered or issued for delivery in this state.

(11) "Premium finance loan" means a loan made primarily for the purpose of making premium payments on a life insurance policy, which loan is secured by an interest in such life insurance policy.

(12) "Related provider trust" means a titling trust or other trust established by a licensed life 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 life settlement provider under which the licensed life 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 life settlement transactions available to the director as if those records and files were maintained directly by the licensed life settlement provider.

(13) "Settled policy" means a life insurance policy or certificate that has been acquired by a life settlement provider pursuant to a life settlement contract.

(14) "Special purpose entity" means a corporation, partnership, trust, limited liability company or other similar entity formed solely to provide either directly or indirectly access to institutional capital markets:

(a)  For a financing entity or licensed life settlement provider;

(b)  In connection with a transaction in which the securities in the special purposes entity are acquired by the owner or by "qualified institutional buyers" as defined in rule 144A, 17 CFR 230.144A, promulgated under the federal securities act of 1933, as amended; or

(c)  In connection with a transaction in which the securities pay a fixed rate of return commensurate with established asset-backed institutional capital markets.

(15) "Stranger-originated life insurance" or "STOLI" means an act, plan, practice, or arrangement to initiate a life insurance policy for the benefit of a third party investor who, at the time of policy origination, has no insurable interest in the insured. STOLI practices include, but are not limited to, cases in which life insurance is purchased with resources or guarantees from or through a person who, at the time of policy inception, could not lawfully initiate the policy himself or itself, and where, at the time of inception, there is an arrangement or agreement, whether oral or written, to directly or indirectly transfer the ownership of the policy or the policy benefits to a third party. Trusts that are created to give the appearance of an insurable interest and are used to initiate policies for investors violate insurable interest laws and the prohibition against wagering on life. STOLI arrangements do not include those practices set forth in subsection (7)(c) of this section.

(16) "Terminally ill" means having an illness or sickness that can reasonably be expected to result in death within twenty-four (24) months or less.

History:

[41-1951, added 2009, ch. 69, sec. 1, p. 192; am. 2013, ch. 266, sec. 10, p. 683.]