HB0302enr 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
HB0302 EnrolledLRB100 05672 SMS 16166 b

1    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Unclaimed Life Insurance Benefits Act is
5amended by changing Sections 10, 15, 30, and 35 as follows:
 
6    (215 ILCS 185/10)
7    Sec. 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
8    "Annuity contract" does not include an annuity contract
9used to fund an employment-based retirement plan or program
10where (1) the insurer does not perform the record keeping
11services or (2) the insurer is not committed by the terms of
12the annuity contract to pay death benefits to the beneficiaries
13of specific plan participants.
14    "Date of death" means the date on which an insured, annuity
15owner, or retained asset account holder died.
16    "Date of death notice" means the date the insurer first has
17notice of the date of death of an insured, annuity owner, or
18retained asset account holder. "Date of death notice" includes,
19but is not limited to, the date the insurer received
20information or gained knowledge of a Death Master File match or
21any other source or record maintained or located in insurer
22records of the death of an insured, annuity owner, or retained
23asset account holder.

 

 

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1    "Death Master File" means the United States Social Security
2Administration's Death Master File or any other database or
3service that is at least as comprehensive as the United States
4Social Security Administration's Death Master File for
5determining that a person has reportedly died.
6    "Death Master File match" means a match of the social
7security number or the name and date of birth of an insured,
8annuity owner, or retained asset account holder resulting from
9a search of the Death Master File.
10    "Department" means the Department of Insurance.
11    "Lost policy finder" means a service made available by the
12Department on its website or otherwise developed by the
13Department to assist consumers with locating unclaimed life
14insurance benefits.
15    "Policy" means any policy or certificate of life insurance
16that provides a death benefit, including a policy that has
17lapsed or been terminated. "Policy" does not include any policy
18or certificate of credit life or accidental death insurance or
19health coverages, including, but not limited to, disability and
20long-term care arising from the reported death of a person
21insured under the coverage, or any policy issued to a group
22master policyholder for which the insurer does not provide
23record keeping services.
24    "Record keeping services" means services provided under
25circumstances in which the insurer has agreed with a group
26policy or annuity contract customer to be responsible for

 

 

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1obtaining, maintaining, and administering its own or its
2agents' systems information about each individual insured
3under an insured's group insurance contract, or a line of
4coverage thereunder, including, but not limited to, the
5following: (1) social security number or name and date of
6birth, (2) beneficiary designation information, (3) coverage
7eligibility, (4) benefit amount, and (5) premium payment
8status.
9    "Retained asset account" means any mechanism whereby the
10settlement of proceeds payable under a policy or annuity
11contract is accomplished by the insurer or an entity acting on
12behalf of the insurer depositing the proceeds into an account
13with check or draft writing privileges, where those proceeds
14are retained by the insurer or its agent pursuant to a
15supplementary contract not involving annuity benefits other
16than death benefits.
17(Source: P.A. 99-893, eff. 1-1-17.)
 
18    (215 ILCS 185/15)
19    Sec. 15. Insurer conduct.
20    (a) An insurer shall initially perform a comparison of its
21insureds', annuitants', and retained asset account holders'
22in-force policies, annuity contracts, and retained asset
23accounts in force on or after January 1, 2017 by using the full
24Death Master File. The initial comparison shall be completed on
25or before December 31, 2017, unless extended by the Department

 

 

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1pursuant to administrative rule. An insurer required to perform
2a comparison of its insureds', annuitants', and retained asset
3account holders' in-force policies, annuity contracts, and
4retained asset accounts in force on or after January 1, 2012
5shall perform a comparison of policies, annuity contracts, and
6retained asset accounts in force between January 1, 2012 and
7December 31, 2016 on or before December 31, 2018 by using the
8full Death Master File. An insurer required to perform a
9comparison of electronic searchable files concerning its
10insureds', annuitants', and retained asset account holders'
11in-force policies, annuity contracts, and retained asset
12accounts in force on or after January 1, 2000 shall perform a
13comparison of policies, annuity contracts, and retained asset
14accounts in force between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2016
15on or before December 31, 2018 by using the full Death Master
16File. Thereafter, an insurer shall perform a comparison on at
17least a semi-annual basis using the Death Master File update
18files for comparisons to identify potential matches of its
19insureds, annuitants, and retained asset account holders. In
20the event that one of the insurer's lines of business conducts
21a search for matches of its insureds, annuitants, and retained
22asset account holders against the Death Master File at
23intervals more frequently than semi-annually, then all lines of
24the insurer's business shall conduct searches for matches
25against the Death Master File with the same frequency. Within 6
26months after acquisition of policies, annuity contracts, or

 

 

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1retained asset accounts from another insurer, the acquiring
2insurer shall compare all newly acquired policies, annuity
3contracts, and retained asset accounts that were not searched
4by the previous insurer in compliance with this Act against the
5complete Death Master File to identify potential matches of its
6insureds, annuitants, and retained asset account holders. Upon
7any subsequent acquisition of policies, annuity contracts, or
8retained asset accounts from another insurer, when the previous
9insurer has already conducted a search of the newly acquired
10policies, annuity contracts, and retained asset accounts using
11the complete Death Master File, the acquiring insurer shall
12compare all newly acquired policies, annuity contracts, and
13retained asset accounts using all of the Death Master File
14updates since the time the previous insurer conducted the
15complete search to identify potential matches of its insureds,
16annuitants, and retained asset account holders.
17    An insured, an annuitant, or a retained asset account
18holder is presumed dead if the date of his or her death is
19indicated by the comparison required in this subsection (a),
20unless the insurer has competent and substantial evidence that
21the person is living, including, but not limited to, a contact
22made by the insurer with the person or his or her legal
23representative.
24    For those potential matches identified as a result of a
25Death Master File match, the insurer shall within 120 days
26after the date of death notice, if the insurer has not been

 

 

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1contacted by a beneficiary, determine whether benefits are due
2in accordance with the applicable policy or contract and, if
3benefits are due in accordance with the applicable policy or
4contract:
5        (1) use good faith efforts, which shall be documented
6    by the insurer, to locate the beneficiary or beneficiaries;
7    the Department shall establish by administrative rule
8    minimum standards for what constitutes good faith efforts
9    to locate a beneficiary, which shall include: (A) searching
10    insurer records; (B) the appropriate use of First Class
11    United States mail, e-mail addresses, and telephone calls;
12    and (C) reasonable efforts by insurers to obtain updated
13    contact information for the beneficiary or beneficiaries;
14    good faith efforts shall not include additional attempts to
15    contact the beneficiary at an address already confirmed not
16    to be current; and
17        (2) provide the appropriate claims forms or
18    instructions to the beneficiary or beneficiaries to make a
19    claim, including the need to provide an official death
20    certificate if applicable under the policy or annuity
21    contract.
22    (b) Insurers shall implement procedures to account for the
23following when conducting searches of the Death Master File:
24        (1) common nicknames, initials used in lieu of a first
25    or middle name, use of a middle name, compound first and
26    middle names, and interchanged first and middle names;

 

 

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1        (2) compound last names, maiden or married names, and
2    hyphens, blank spaces, or apostrophes in last names;
3        (3) transposition of the "month" and "date" portions of
4    the date of birth; and
5        (4) incomplete social security numbers.
6    (c) To the extent permitted by law, an insurer may disclose
7the minimum necessary personal information about the insured,
8annuity owner, retained asset account holder, or beneficiary to
9a person whom the insurer reasonably believes may be able to
10assist the insurer with locating the beneficiary or a person
11otherwise entitled to payment of the claims proceeds.
12    (d) An insurer or its service provider shall not charge any
13beneficiary or other authorized representative for any fees or
14costs associated with a Death Master File search or
15verification of a Death Master File match conducted pursuant to
16this Act.
17    (e) The benefits from a policy, annuity contract, or a
18retained asset account, plus any applicable accrued interest,
19shall first be payable to the designated beneficiaries or
20owners and, in the event the beneficiaries or owners cannot be
21found, shall be reported and delivered to the State Treasurer
22pursuant to the Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act.
23Nothing in this subsection (e) is intended to alter the amounts
24reportable under the existing provisions of the Uniform
25Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act or to allow the
26imposition of additional statutory interest under Article XIV

 

 

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1of the Illinois Insurance Code.
2    (f) Failure to meet any requirement of this Section with
3such frequency as to constitute a general business practice is
4a violation of Section 424 of the Illinois Insurance Code.
5Nothing in this Section shall be construed to create or imply a
6private cause of action for a violation of this Section.
7(Source: P.A. 99-893, eff. 1-1-17.)
 
8    (215 ILCS 185/30)
9    Sec. 30. Administrative rules. (a) The Department shall
10adopt rules to administer and implement this Act, including
11defining "electronic searchable files" for the purposes of this
12Act.
13    (b) The Department may limit an insurer's Death Master File
14comparisons required under Section 15 of this Act to the
15insurer's electronic searchable files or approve a plan and
16timeline for conversion of the insurer's files to searchable
17electronic files upon a demonstration of hardship by the
18insurer.
19(Source: P.A. 99-893, eff. 1-1-17.)
 
20    (215 ILCS 185/35)
21    Sec. 35. Application.
22    (a) Except as provided in subsections (b), (c), and (d),
23the The provisions of this Act apply to policies, annuity
24contracts, and retained asset accounts in force at any time on

 

 

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1or after January 1, 2012 the effective date of this Act.
2    (b) For an insurer that has entered into a written
3agreement with the State Treasurer on or before December 31,
42018 to resolve an unclaimed property examination pursuant to
5the Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act, the
6provisions of this Act apply to policies, annuity contracts,
7and retained asset accounts in force on or after January 1,
82017.
9    (c) Notwithstanding subsection (a), the provisions of this
10Act shall apply to policies, annuity contracts, and retained
11asset accounts in force at any time on or after January 1, 2000
12to the extent that an insurer has electronic searchable files
13concerning such policies, annuity contracts, and retained
14asset accounts.
15    (d) This Act does not apply to a lapsed or terminated
16policy with no benefits payable that was compared against the
17Death Master File within the 18 months following the date of
18the lapse or termination of the applicable policy or that was
19searched more than 18 months prior to the most recent
20comparison against the Death Master File conducted by the
21insurer.
22(Source: P.A. 99-893, eff. 1-1-17.)
 
23    Section 10. The Vital Records Act is amended by adding
24Section 24.6 as follows:
 

 

 

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1    (410 ILCS 535/24.6 new)
2    Sec. 24.6. Access to records; State Treasurer. Any
3information contained in the vital records shall be made
4available at no cost to the State Treasurer for administrative
5purposes related to the Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed
6Property Act.
 
7    Section 15. The Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property
8Act is amended by changing Section 20 as follows:
 
9    (765 ILCS 1025/20)  (from Ch. 141, par. 120)
10    Sec. 20. Determination of claims.
11    (a) The State Treasurer shall consider any claim filed
12under this Act and may, in his discretion, hold a hearing and
13receive evidence concerning it. Such hearing shall be conducted
14by the State Treasurer or by a hearing officer designated by
15him. No hearings shall be held if the payment of the claim is
16ordered by a court, if the claimant is under court
17jurisdiction, or if the claim is paid under Article XXV of the
18Probate Act of 1975. The State Treasurer or hearing officer
19shall prepare a finding and a decision in writing on each
20hearing, stating the substance of any evidence heard by him,
21his findings of fact in respect thereto, and the reasons for
22his decision. The State Treasurer shall review the findings and
23decision of each hearing conducted by a hearing officer and
24issue a final written decision. The final decision shall be a

 

 

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1public record. Any claim of an interest in property that is
2filed pursuant to this Act shall be considered and a finding
3and decision shall be issued by the Office of the State
4Treasurer in a timely and expeditious manner.
5    (b) If the claim is allowed, and after deducting an amount
6not to exceed $20 to cover the cost of notice publication and
7related clerical expenses, the State Treasurer shall make
8payment forthwith.
9    (c) In order to carry out the purpose of this Act, no
10person or company shall be entitled to a fee for discovering
11presumptively abandoned property during the period beginning
12on the date the property was presumed abandoned under this Act
13and ending 24 months after the payment or delivery of the
14property to until it has been in the custody of the Unclaimed
15Property Division of the Office of the State Treasurer for at
16least 24 months. Fees for discovering property that has been in
17the custody of that division for more than 24 months shall be
18limited to not more than 10% of the amount collected.
19    (d) A person or company attempting to collect a contingent
20fee for discovering, on behalf of an owner, presumptively
21abandoned property must be licensed as a private detective
22pursuant to the Private Detective, Private Alarm, Private
23Security, Fingerprint Vendor, and Locksmith Act of 2004.
24    (e) This Section shall not apply to the fees of an attorney
25at law duly appointed to practice in a state of the United
26States who is employed by a claimant with regard to probate

 

 

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1matters on a contractual basis or to contest a denial of a
2claim for recovery of the property.
3    (f) Any person or company offering to identify, discover,
4or collect presumptively abandoned property or property which
5may become presumptively abandoned on behalf of the putative
6owner of such property in exchange for a fee, must provide the
7owner with a written disclosure. The disclosure shall be set
8forth in a clear and conspicuous manner and at a minimum shall
9state the following:
10        Each state maintains an office of unclaimed property.
11    Generally, if for a number of years an owner of property
12    has not communicated directly with the holder of the
13    property, and has not otherwise indicated an interest in or
14    claimed the property, the property will be delivered to a
15    state administered unclaimed property program. Upon such
16    delivery, the owner will be able to recover the property
17    from the state administered program without charge by the
18    state. The unclaimed asset referred to in this Agreement
19    has not yet been reported or remitted to any state
20    unclaimed property office. Since you reside (or resided) in
21    Illinois, you may obtain information about the Illinois
22    unclaimed property program by logging onto its website at
23    www.illinoistreasurer.gov www.treasurer.il.gov.
24        A person or company may not charge a fee greater than
25    25% of the property's value for the recovery of that
26    property where the property is not yet reportable under

 

 

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1    this Act and the designated owner of that property, as
2    reflected within the books and records of the holder, is
3    living.
4        A person or company may not charge a fee greater than
5    33% of the property's value for the recovery of that
6    property where the property is not yet reportable under
7    this Act and the recovery of that property involves
8    documentation of the owner's death or any elements of
9    estate or trust administration.
10(Source: P.A. 95-613, eff. 9-11-07; 95-1003, eff. 6-1-09.)