By McCall                                             H.B. No. 2288
         76R8532 T                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to the consent to ownership or beneficiary of certain life
 1-3     insurance policies
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Article 3.49-1, Insurance Code, is amended to
 1-6     read as follows:
 1-7           Sec. 1.  DESIGNATION OF BENEFICIARIES OR OWNERS IN
 1-8     APPLICATION.  Any person of legal age may apply for insurance on
 1-9     his life in any legal reserve or mutual assessment life insurance
1-10     company and in such application designate in writing any person,
1-11     persons, partnership, association, corporation or other legal
1-12     entity, or any combination thereof, as the beneficiary or
1-13     beneficiaries, or the absolute or partial owner or owners, or both
1-14     beneficiary and owner, of any policy or policies issued in
1-15     connection with such application; and with respect to any such
1-16     policy or policies any such beneficiary or owner so designated
1-17     shall at all times thereafter have an insurable interest in the
1-18     life of such person, except as provided in Section 4 [3] hereof.
1-19           Sec. 2.  DESIGNATION OF BENEFICIARIES OR OWNERS IN EXISTING
1-20     OR FUTURE POLICIES.  Any person of legal age whose life is insured
1-21     under any existing or future policy of insurance by any legal
1-22     reserve or mutual assessment life insurance company may, in the
1-23     manner and to the extent permitted by the policy, designate in
1-24     writing as the beneficiary or beneficiaries thereof any person,
 2-1     persons, partnership, association, corporation or other legal
 2-2     entity, or any combination thereof, and in addition, in any manner
 2-3     and to any extent not prohibited by the terms of the policy, may
 2-4     transfer or assign in writing any such policy or any interest,
 2-5     benefit, right or title therein to any person, persons,
 2-6     partnership, association, corporation or other legal entity, or any
 2-7     combination thereof, and with respect to any such policy any such
 2-8     beneficiary, transferee or assignee shall at all times thereafter
 2-9     have an insurable interest in the life of such person, except as
2-10     provided in Section 3 hereof.
2-11           Sec. 3.  CONSENT TO OWNERSHIP OR BENEFICIARY OF POLICIES.
2-12     Any person of legal age may consent in writing to the purchase of
2-13     or the application for an individual or group insurance policy or
2-14     policies issued by any legal reserve or mutual assessment life
2-15     insurance company by a third party or parties and in such written
2-16     document, consent to or designate any person, persons, partnership,
2-17     association, corporation or other legal entity, or any combination
2-18     thereof, as the absolute or partial owner or owners, beneficiary,
2-19     or any combination thereof, of any policy or policies issued in
2-20     connection with such consent or designation; and with respect to
2-21     any such policy or policies any such owner or beneficiary shall at
2-22     all times thereafter have an insurable interest in the life of such
2-23     person, except as provided in Section 4 hereof.
2-24           Sec. 4 [3].  EXCEPTION OF PERSONS, ETC., ENGAGED IN THE
2-25     BUSINESS OF BURYING DEAD.  Notwithstanding the provisions thereof,
2-26     no person, persons, partnership, association, corporation or other
2-27     legal entity, or any combination thereof, directly or indirectly
 3-1     engaged in the business of burying the dead shall have or obtain,
 3-2     directly or indirectly, any insurable interest in the life of any
 3-3     person by virtue of Sections 1, [or] 2, or 3 hereof, or shall have
 3-4     an insurable interest in the life of any person unless such
 3-5     insurable interest be established under and by virtue of other
 3-6     applicable statutory or common law.
 3-7           Sec. 5 [4].  CUMULATIVE EFFECT; LIBERAL CONSTRUCTION.  The
 3-8     provisions of this Act are cumulative of existing law in Texas,
 3-9     statutory and otherwise, on the question of insurable interest.
3-10     This Act is enacted in specific recognition of the provisions of
3-11     Article 21.23 of the Texas Insurance Code, 1951, that the interest
3-12     of any beneficiary in a life insurance policy is forfeited if the
3-13     beneficiary is the principal or an accomplice in bringing about the
3-14     death of the insured.
3-15           This Act shall be liberally construed to effectuate its
3-16     purposes, and its provisions are not to be limited or restricted by
3-17     previous declarations or holdings of the Courts of Texas defining
3-18     the term insurable interest.
3-19           SECTION 2.  This legislation is effective for all insurance
3-20     contracts delivered, issued, or used on or after January 1, 2000.
3-21           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
3-22     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-23     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-24     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-25     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
3-26                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1
3-27           Amend H.B. 2288 as follows:
 4-1           (1)  On page 2, line 10, strike "3" and substitute "4".
 4-2                                                        Lewis of Tarrant