The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 8 : Banking and Insurance

Chapter 103 : Life Insurance Policies and Annuity Contracts

Subchapter 005 : Group Life Insurance

• § 3803. Employee groups

  The lives of a group of individuals may be insured under a policy issued to an employer, or to the trustees of a fund established by an employer, which employer or trustees shall be deemed the policyholder, to insure employees of the employer for the benefit of persons other than the employer, subject to the following requirements:

  (1) The employees eligible for insurance under the policy shall be all of the employees of the employer, or all of any class or classes thereof determined by conditions pertaining to their employment. The policy may provide that the term “employees” shall include the employees of one or more subsidiary corporations, and the employees, individual proprietors, and partners of one or more affiliated corporations, proprietors, or partnerships if the business of the employer and of such affiliated corporations, proprietors, or partnerships is under common control through stock ownership, contract, or otherwise. The policy may provide that the term “employees” shall include the individual proprietor or partners if the employer is an individual proprietor or a partnership. The policy may provide that the term “employees” shall include retired employees. No director of a corporate employer shall be eligible for insurance under the policy unless such person is otherwise eligible as a bona fide employee of the corporation, by performing services other than the usual duties of a director. No individual proprietor or partner shall be eligible for insurance under the policy unless he or she is actively engaged in and devotes a substantial part of his or her time to the conduct of the business of the proprietor or partnership. A policy issued to insure the employees of a public body may provide that the term “employees” shall include elected or appointed officials.

  (2) The premium for the policy shall be paid by the policyholder, either wholly from the employer’s funds or funds contributed by him or her, or partly from such funds and partly from funds contributed by the insured employees. No policy may be issued on which the entire premium is to be derived from funds contributed by the insured employees. A policy on which no part of the premium is to be derived from funds contributed by the insured employees must insure all eligible employees, or all except any as to whom evidence of individual insurability is not satisfactory to the insurer.

  (3) The policy must cover at least two employees at date of issue.

  (4) The amounts of insurance under the policy must be based upon some plan precluding individual selection either by the employees or by the employer or trustees. (Added 1967, No. 344 (Adj. Sess.), § 1 (ch. 2, subch. 6, § 3); amended 2005, No. 36, § 7, eff. June 1, 2005; 2009, No. 137 (Adj. Sess.), § 5.)