§ 38-13-211 — Knowledge of death of insured or annuitant - definition

Colorado § 38-13-211

• Jurisdiction: Colorado
• Title 38: Property -
• Art.: Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act

Text

(1) In
this section, death master file means the United States social security
administration's death master file or other database or service that is at least as
comprehensive as the United States social security administration's death master
file for determining that an individual reportedly has died.

(2) With respect to a life or endowment insurance policy or annuity contract
for which an amount is owed on proof of death, but that 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:

(a) The company receives a death certificate or a court order determining
that the insured or annuitant has died;

(b) Due diligence performed as required under Colorado law 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;

(c) 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;

(d) The administrator or the administrator's agent conducts a comparison for
the purpose of finding matches during an examination conducted under part 10 of
this article 13 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

(e) The company:

(I) 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, executor, or other legal representative of the insured's or
annuitant's estate; and

(II) Validates the death of the insured or annuitant.

(3) The following rules apply under this section:

(a) A death-master-file match under subsection (2)(c) or (2)(d) of this section
occurs if the criteria for an exact or partial match are satisfied as provided by the
Unclaimed Life Insurance Benefits Act, part 8 of article 7 of title 10.

(b) 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.

(c) 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.

(d) If no provision in title 10 or rules of the commissioner of insurance
establishes a time for the 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
ninety days after the insurance company has notice of the death.

(4) This article 13 does not affect the determination of the extent to which an
insurance company, before July 1, 2020, 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.

Legislative History

Source: L. 2019: Entire article R&RE, (SB 19-088), ch. 110, p. 421, � 1, effective July 1, 2020.