Montana Code Annotated 2023

TITLE 33. INSURANCE AND INSURANCE COMPANIES

CHAPTER 20. LIFE INSURANCE

Part 11. Groups and Group Requirements

Debtor Groups

33-20-1105. Debtor groups. The lives of a group of individuals may be insured under a policy issued to a creditor, who is considered the policyholder, to insure the debtors of the creditor, subject to the following requirements:

(1) The debtors eligible for insurance under the policy must be all of the debtors of the creditor or all of any class or classes of those debtors determined by conditions pertaining to the indebtedness or the purchase giving rise to the indebtedness. The policy may provide that the term "debtors" includes the debtors of one or more subsidiary corporations and the debtors of one or more affiliated corporations, proprietors, or partnerships if the business of the policyholder and of the affiliated corporations, proprietors, or partnerships is under common control.

(2) The premium for the policy must be paid by the policyholder from the creditor's funds, from charges collected from the insured debtors, or from both. A policy on which part or all of the premium is to be derived from the collection from the insured debtors of identifiable charges not required of uninsured debtors may not include, in the class or classes of debtors eligible for insurance, debtors under obligations outstanding at its date of issue without evidence of individual insurability unless at least 75% of the then eligible debtors elect to pay the required charges. A policy on which no part of the premium is to be derived from the collection of identifiable charges must insure all eligible debtors or all except any as to whom evidence of individual insurability is not satisfactory to the insurer.

(3) The policy may be issued only if the group of eligible debtors is then receiving new entrants at the rate of at least 100 persons yearly or may reasonably be expected to receive at least 100 new entrants during the first policy year and only if the policy reserves to the insurer the right to require evidence of individual insurability if less than 75% of the new entrants become insured. The policy may exclude from the classes eligible for insurance classes of debtors determined by age.

(4) The amount of insurance on the life of any debtor may not at any time exceed the amount owed by the debtor to the creditor.

(5) The insurance must be payable to the policyholder. Each payment must reduce or extinguish the unpaid indebtedness of the debtor to the extent of the payment.

History: En. Sec. 333, Ch. 286, L. 1959; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 132, L. 1965; R.C.M. 1947, 40-3906; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 617, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 1214, Ch. 56, L. 2009.