Code of Massachusetts Regulations
211 CMR - DIVISION OF INSURANCE
Title 211 CMR 95.00 - Variable Life Insurance
Section 95.01 - Definitions

The following words as used in 211 CMR 95.00 shall, unless the context requires otherwise, have the following meanings:

Affiliate means any person directly or indirectly, controlling, controlled by, or under common control with such insurer; any person who regularly furnishes investment advice to such insurer with respect to its separate accounts for which a specific fee or commission is charged; or any director, officer, partner, or employee of any such insurer, controlling or controlled person, or person providing investment advice or any member of the immediate family of such person.

Assumed Investment Rate means the rate of investment return which would be required to be credited to a variable life insurance policy, after deduction of charges for taxes, investment expenses and mortality and expense guarantees, to maintain the variable death benefit equal at all times to the amount of death benefit, other than incidental insurance benefits, which would be payable under the plan of insurance if the death benefit did not vary according to the investment experience of the separate account.

Benefit Base means the amount specified by the terms of the variable life insurance policy to which the net investment return is applied.

Cash Surrender Value means the cash value less any policy-defined surrender charge.

Cash Value means the amount, specified by the terms of the variable life insurance policy, to which separately identified mortality, expense, or other charges are made.

Commissioner means the Commissioner of Insurance or his or her designee.

Control means the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct the management and policies of a person, whether through the ownership of voting stock, by contract other than a commercial contract for goods or non-management services, or otherwise, unless the power is the result of official position or positions with, or corporate office or offices held by, the person or persons. Control shall be presumed to exist if any person directly or indirectly owns, controls, holds with the present power to vote, or holds proxies representing more than 10% of the voting stock of any other person. Such presumption may be rebutted by a showing made to the satisfaction of the Commissioner that control does not exist in fact. The Commissioner may determine, after furnishing all persons in interest notice and opportunity to be heard and making specific findings of fact to support such determination, that control exists in fact, notwithstanding the absence of a presumption to that effect.

Division means the Division of Insurance.

Flexible Premium Policy means any variable life insurance policy other than a scheduled premium policy.

General Account means all assets of the insurer, other than assets in separate accounts established pursuant to M.G.L. c. 175, §§ 132F or 132G, or pursuant to the corresponding section of the insurance law of the state of domicile of a foreign or alien insurer, whether or not for variable life insurance.

General Account Life Insurance Policy means any life insurance policy other than a variable life insurance policy.

Incidental Insurance Benefit means an insurance benefit in a variable life insurance policy, other than the variable death benefit and the minimum death benefit, and includes but is not limited to accidental death and dismemberment benefits, disability benefits, guaranteed insurability options, family income, or term riders.

Insurance Producer means any person, corporation, partnership, or other legal entity which is licensed by the Commonwealth as an insurance producer.

May is permissive.

Minimum Death Benefit means the amount of the guaranteed death benefit, other than incidental insurance benefits, payable under a variable life insurance policy regardless of the investment performance of the separate account.

Net Cash Surrender Value means the cash surrender value less any amounts outstanding as policy loans and loan interest.

Net Investment Return means the rate of investment return to be applied to the benefit base.

Person means an individual, a corporation, a partnership, an association, a trust, a joint stock company, a fund, an unincorporated organization, or any similar entity or combination of the foregoing acting in concert.

Policy Processing Day means the day on which charges authorized in the policy are deducted from the cash value.

Scheduled Premium Policy means any variable life insurance policy under which both the amount and timing of premium payments are fixed by the insurer.

Separate Account means an account established pursuant to M.G.L. c. 175, §§ 132F or 132G, or pursuant to the corresponding section of the insurance law of the state of domicile of a foreign or alien insurer.

Shall is mandatory.

Variable Death Benefit means the amount of death benefit, other than incidental insurance benefits, payable under a variable life insurance policy, dependent on the investment performance of the separate account which the insurer would have to pay in the absence of any minimum death benefit.

Variable Life Insurance Policy means any individual policy which provides for life insurance, the amount or duration of which varies according to the investment experience of any separate account or accounts established and maintained by the insurer with respect to such policy, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 175, §§ 132F or 132G, or pursuant to the corresponding section of the insurance law of the state of domicile of a foreign or alien insurer.