CHAPTER 699
INSURANCE CONTRACTS IN GENERAL

      Sec. 38a-283. (Formerly Sec. 38-20c). Insurance policy signatures. Any insurer may, in an insurance policy form or endorsement, substitute the printed names of the officers duly empowered to affirm to such form or endorsement for the facsimile of such officers' signatures.

      (P.A. 84-155.)

      History: Sec. 38-20c transferred to Sec. 38a-283 in 1991.

      Sec. 38a-284. (Formerly Sec. 38-157). Insurance contracts by minors. Any minor of the age of fifteen years or more may, notwithstanding such minority, contract for life, health and accident insurance on his person for his benefit or for the benefit of his father, mother, husband, wife, child, brother or sister and may exercise all such contractual rights with respect to any such contract of insurance as might be exercised by a person of full legal age and may at any time surrender his interest in any such insurance or give a valid discharge for any benefit accruing or money payable thereunder.

      (1949 Rev., S. 6147.)

      History: Sec. 38-157 transferred to Sec. 38a-284 in 1991.

      Annotation to former section 38-157:

      Plaintiff could not take advantage of contractual rights without complying with conditions of policy. 139 C. 54.

      Sec. 38a-285. (Formerly Sec. 38-108). Two or more companies may issue a combination policy covering marine and transportation business. Two or more insurance companies authorized to transact, in this state, a marine and transportation insurance business may issue combination forms of policies covering such business, using distinctive titles therefor, which titles shall appear at the head of the respective policies, followed by the titles of the several companies obligated thereunder, which policies shall be executed by the officers of each of such companies; provided, before such companies issue any such combination policy, they shall have received the express permission of the commissioner of this state to issue the same, and the titles of such proposed policies, and the terms of the additional provisions thereof, hereby authorized, shall have been approved by him, which terms shall provide substantially, under a separate title therein, to be known as "Provisions specially applicable to this combination policy", as follows: (a) That each company executing such policy shall be liable for the full amount of any loss or damage according to the terms of the policy, or for a specific percentage thereof; (b) that service of process, or of any notices required by such policy, upon any of the companies executing the same shall be deemed to be service upon all; and provided the unearned premium liability on each policy so issued shall be maintained by each of such companies on the basis of the liability of each of the insured thereunder.

      (1949 Rev., S. 6113.)

      History: Sec. 38-108 transferred to Sec. 38a-285 in 1991.

      Sec. 38a-286. (Formerly Sec. 38-109). Companies may insure any risks pertaining to transportation and navigation. Section 38a-286 is repealed, effective October 1, 2002.

      (1949 Rev., S. 6114; P.A. 02-89, S. 90.)

      Sec. 38a-287. (Formerly Sec. 38-163). Defrauding life or accident insurance companies. Any person who obtains or attempts to obtain, from any life or accident insurance company of this state, any money on any policy of insurance issued by it, by falsely or fraudulently representing the insured person as dead or the person insured against accident as injured, or fraudulently obtains or attempts to obtain any money from such company upon a policy of insurance issued in the name of a fictitious person, shall, (1) if the sum so obtained or attempted to be obtained is two thousand dollars or more, be imprisoned not more than ten years, and (2) if such sum is less than two thousand dollars, be fined not more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

      (1949 Rev., S. 8711; P.A. 08-178, S. 12.)

      History: Sec. 38-163 transferred to Sec. 38a-287 in 1991; P.A. 08-178 added Subdiv. designators (1) and (2), increased threshold from $100 to $2,000 and increased maximum fine from $500 to $10,000 for violation involving less than $2,000.

      Sec. 38a-288. (Formerly Sec. 38-33). Insurance sold in connection with installment contracts and loans. The commissioner shall make regulations governing insurance on personal property sold under installment or deferred payment contracts or on personal property pledged as security for a loan and governing any other insurance sold in connection with such installment or deferred payment contracts or loans. Such regulations may prescribe (a) the form of notice and policy to be furnished the purchaser or borrower and the prominence with which any exceptions, restrictions or limitations shall appear in such notice or policy, (b) the records to be maintained by insurance companies, (c) the manner in which single-interest and dual-interest insurance coverage may be used when written at the expense of the purchaser or borrower, (d) the right of the purchaser or borrower to notice of any change in his insurance coverage and to dividends and unearned premiums thereon and (e) the manner in which premiums on such policies and losses or claims thereunder shall be paid or adjusted.

      (1953, S. 2798d; 1957, P.A. 131, S. 1; P.A. 88-69.)

      History: P.A. 88-69 permitted the insurance commissioner to regulate the manner in which dual-interest insurance coverage may be used when written at the expense of the purchaser or borrower; Sec. 38-33 transferred to Sec. 38a-288 in 1991.

      Annotation to former section 38-33:

      Under department regulations, section 38-33-5, there shall be no subrogation on any single interest policies. 2 Conn. Cir. Ct. 333.

      Sec. 38a-289. (Formerly Sec. 38-28). Contracts of reinsurance. Contracts for reinsurance shall be deemed insurance contracts, but the hazard under such contracts is declared to be distinct in nature from the hazard originally insured. No provision of law relative to the form of insurance contracts or policies shall apply to contracts of reinsurance unless made specifically applicable thereto. Each corporation, company or association which issues in this state any contract of reinsurance shall continue to possess and be subject as to such contract to all of the provisions of its charter and of the statutes, so far as they may be applicable, except as hereinbefore provided.

      (1949 Rev., S. 6086.)

      History: Sec. 38-28 transferred to Sec. 38a-289 in 1991.

      Sec. 38a-290. (Formerly Sec. 38-27). Time limitation on suits and arbitration claims. No insurance company doing business in this state shall limit the time within which any suit shall be brought against it or any claim shall be submitted to arbitration on (1) a fidelity or surety bond to a period less than three years from the time when the loss insured against occurs; (2) a construction performance bond to a period less than three years from the date on which the principal last performed work under the contract; (3) a construction payment bond to a period less than three years from the date on which the claimant last performed work or supplied material for which the claim is made; and (4) all other policies to a period less than one year from the time when the loss insured against occurs. This section shall not apply to suits and arbitration claims under the uninsured or underinsured motorist provisions of a motor vehicle insurance policy.

      (1949 Rev., S. 6085; 1955, S. 2791d; P.A. 82-406, S. 2; P.A. 85-73; P.A. 93-77, S. 1, 4; P.A. 00-105, S. 3, 5.)

      History: P.A. 82-406 prohibited time limitation on suits against insurance companies on construction performance bonds to less than three years from date on which principal last performed work, on construction payment bond to less than three years from the date on which claimant last performed work and on uninsured motorist provision of motor vehicle insurance policy to less than two years from date of accident, replacing provision which had prohibited time limitation of less than one year from time when loss occurs in all cases except those relating to fidelity or surety bonds for which existing limitation remains in effect; P.A. 85-73 provided that claims for uninsured motorist coverage must be submitted to arbitration within two years of the date of the accident; Sec. 38-27 transferred to Sec. 38a-290 in 1991; P.A. 93-77 deleted former Subdiv. (d) prohibiting an insurance company's limiting the time on bringing suit or submitting a claim to arbitration on the uninsured motorist provisions of a motor vehicle insurance policy to a period less than two years from the date of the accident, relettered former Subdiv. (e) as Subdiv. (d) and added provision that this section is not applicable to suits and arbitration claims under uninsured and underinsured motorist provisions of a motor vehicle insurance policy, effective May 20, 1993; P.A. 00-105 substituted numeric Subdiv. designators for alphabetic designators, effective July 1, 2000.

      See Sec. 38a-336 re time limitation on suits and arbitration claims under uninsured or underinsured motorist provisions of a motor vehicle insurance policy.

      Annotations to former section 38-27:

      Cited. 224 C. 133; Id., 145.

      Cited. 34 CA 833.

      Time when statute begins to run on surety bonds discussed. 19 CS 257.

      Annotations to present section:

      Cited. 224 C. 133; Id., 145. Cited. 231 C. 938. P.A. 93-77 cited. Id. Cited. 233 C. 437. P.A. 93-77 and P.A. 93-77, Sec. 1 cited. Id. Cited. Id., 460. P.A. 93-77 and P.A. 93-77, Sec. 1 cited. Id. Cited. Id., 474. P.A. 93-77 and P.A. 93-77, Sec. 1 cited. Id.

      Cited. 34 CA 833. Cited. 36 CA 141. P.A. 93-77 cited. Id. Cited. 44 CA 698. P.A. 93-77, Sec. 3 cited. Id.

      Subsec. (d):

      Cited. 44 CA 47. P.A. 93-77, Sec. 1 (d) cited. Id., 698.

      Sec. 38a-291. Life insurance owned by an employer or trust. Provisions and prohibitions. Construction. (a)(1)(A) The trustee of any voluntary employees' beneficiary association trust, as defined in Section 501(c)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as from time to time amended, to provide life, health or similar benefits to employees or retired employees and acting in a fiduciary capacity with respect to those employees or retired employees may procure insurance on the lives of those employees or retired employees; (B) an employer or a trustee of a trust, other than a voluntary employees' beneficiary association trust, providing life, health, disability, retirement or similar benefits to the employer's employees or retired employees may procure insurance on the lives of those employees or retired employees; and (C) prior to procuring insurance on the lives of employees or retired employees pursuant to subparagraph (A) or (B) of this subdivision, the employer or trustee shall obtain the written consent of each employee or retired employee proposed for coverage, and such consent shall include an acknowledgment from the employee that the employer or trustee may maintain the life insurance coverage after the employee's employment has terminated.

      (2) No person may retaliate against any employee or retired employee for refusing to consent to the issuance of insurance on the life of such employee.

      (3) For nonkey or nonmanagerial employees, the amount of coverage shall be reasonably related to the benefits provided to those employees in the aggregate. For purposes of this section, "nonkey or nonmanagerial employees" means those employees who do not meet the criteria set forth in 29 CFR 541.1, 29 CFR 541.2 or 29 CFR 541.3.

      (4) Life insurance coverage purchased to finance employer-provided pension and welfare benefit plans shall be allowed only on the lives of those employees and retirees who are eligible to participate in the plan at the time their lives are first insured under the plan.

      (b) The provisions of this section shall apply to policies or contracts delivered or issued for delivery in this state.

      (c) This section shall not be construed to affect or prohibit any person, trust or corporation from procuring insurance upon the life or health of another person in whom it has an insurable interest at common law.

      (P.A. 92-75, S. 2; P.A. 04-24, S. 1.)

      History: P.A. 04-24 designated existing provisions of Subsec. (a) as Subsec. (a)(1)(A), added new Subsec. (a)(1)(B) and (C) re employers and prior consent, added new Subsec. (a)(2) to (4), inclusive, re retaliation, nonkey and nonmanagerial employees, and insurance to finance pension and welfare benefit plans, and amended Subsec. (c) to substitute "construed" for "interpreted".

      Secs. 38a-292 to 38a-294. Reserved for future use.