§ 3211 — Notice of premium due under life or disability insurance policy; notice to assignees of non-payment of premium

New York § 3211

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law ISC: Insurance
• Art. 32: Insurance Contracts - Life, Accident and Health, Annuities

Text

§ 3211. Notice of premium due under life or disability insurance\npolicy; notice to assignees of non-payment of premium.\n (a) (1) No policy of life insurance or non-cancellable disability\ninsurance delivered or issued for delivery in this state, and no life\ninsurance certificate delivered or issued for delivery in this state by\na fraternal benefit society, shall terminate or lapse by reason of\ndefault in payment of any premium, installment, or interest on any\npolicy loan in less than one year after such default, unless, for\nscheduled premium policies, a notice shall have been duly mailed at\nleast fifteen and not more than forty-five days prior to the day when\nsuch payment becomes due, or for life insurance policies in which the\namount and frequency of premiums may vary, no earlier than and within\nthirty days after the day when the insurer determines that the net cash\nsurrender value under the policy is insufficient to pay the total\ncharges that are necessary to keep the policy in force. A separate\nnotice shall not be required for insurance that is supplemental to a\npolicy of life insurance.\n (2) If a life insurance policy or life insurance certificate provides\nthat the policyholder or certificate holder may vary the amount and\nfrequency of premiums to be paid to the insurer, premiums, installments\nand interest on loans will be considered due on the day when the failure\nof the insurer or fraternal benefit society to receive an amount of\npremium, installment or interest on loan would cause such policy or\ncertificate to terminate or lapse, and the failure to pay such amount\nshall be considered a default.\n (b) The notice required by paragraph one of subsection (a) hereof\nshall:\n (1) be duly mailed to the last known address of the policyowner, or if\nany other person shall have been designated in writing to receive such\nnotice, then to such other person;\n (2) state the amount of such payment, the date when due, the place\nwhere and the person to whom it is payable; and shall also state that\nunless such payment is made on or before the date when due or within the\nspecified grace period thereafter, the policy shall terminate or lapse\nexcept as to the right to any cash surrender value or nonforfeiture\nbenefit.\n (c) If the payment demanded by such notice shall be made within the\ntime limited therefor, it shall be taken to be in full compliance with\nthe requirements of the policy in respect to the time of such payment.\nThe statement of any officer, employee or agent of such insurer, or of\nany one authorized to mail such notice, subscribed and affirmed by him\nas true under the penalties of perjury, stating facts which show that\nthe notice required by this section has been duly addressed and mailed\nshall be presumptive evidence that such notice has been duly given.\n (d) No action shall be maintained to recover on any life insurance\npolicy, or on any such non-cancellable contract of permanent and total\ndisability insurance, which has lapsed because of default in making such\npayment (except an action to recover the cash surrender value or\nnonforfeiture benefit) unless the action is instituted within two years\nfrom the date of such default.\n (e) (1) An assignee of a policy of life insurance under an assignment\nmade in this state may request the insurer to give such assignee notice\nof non-payment of any premium due on such policy.\n (2) The request must be made before default in payment of premium, and\nmust be in writing, mailed to the home office of the insurer and specify\nthe name and address of the assignee, the name of the insured and the\npolicy number.\n (3) When the request is made as provided herein the right of such\nassignee to the cash surrender value or other nonforfeiture benefit\nunder the policy shall continue as it existed on the date of default\nuntil the expiration of ten days after the mailing of notice of such\ndefault to the last known address of the assignee.\n (4) Upon termination of the assignee's rights under the assignment,\nthe assignee shall promptly mail a release thereof to the insurer.\n (5) This subsection shall not be construed to affect the contractual\nrights of assignees.\n (f) This section shall not apply to:\n (1) Any policy of group insurance.\n (2) Any policy of insurance requiring the payment of premiums monthly\nor at shorter intervals, provided in the case of policies of life\ninsurance the insurer issuing such policy elects with respect to all\nsuch policies to mail a written notice within six months after\ntermination or lapse to the insured or to any other person who shall\nhave been designated in writing to receive such notice, stating the type\nand amount of any automatic nonforfeiture benefit in force.\n (g) In the case of life insurance policies to which this section is\napplicable and which contain a cash surrender value, the insurer must\nprovide an annual notification that the policy contains a cash surrender\nvalue and that further information, including the amount thereof, is\navailable from the insurer upon written request from the policyowner.\nSuch notification shall include a statement that the insured has the\nright to request an updated policy illustration based, in respect to a\nparticipating policy, on the then current dividend scale, and in respect\nto a policy subject to subsection (a) of section four thousand two\nhundred thirty-two of this chapter, on the then current mortality,\ninterest and expense assumptions. The notification pertaining to the\ncash surrender value shall be set out in a conspicuous manner and shall\ninclude the address to which the policyowner may make a written inquiry.\nAny notice or statement which informs a policyowner of the policy's cash\nsurrender value at least annually shall be deemed to comply with the\nrequirements of this subsection.\n (h) In the case of life insurance policies described in paragraph two\nof subsection (f) of this section and which contain a cash surrender\nvalue, the notification requirement of subsection (g) of this section\nwill apply in cases where the insurer voluntarily sends a notice of the\npremium due.\n