AN ACT Relating to group life insurance; amending RCW 48.24.030 and 48.24.045; and reenacting and amending RCW 48.24.060.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. Section .24.03, chapter 79, Laws of 1947 as last amended by section 11, chapter 266, Laws of 1975 1st ex. sess. and RCW 48.24.030 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Insurance under any group life insurance policy issued pursuant to RCW 48.24.020, or 48.24.050, or 48.24.060, or 48.24.070 or 48.24.090 may, if seventy-five percent of the then insured employees or labor union members or public employee association members or members of the Washington state patrol elect, be extended to insure the spouse and dependent children, or any class or classes thereof, of each such insured employee or member who so elects, in amounts in accordance with a plan which precludes individual selection by the employees or members or by the employer or labor union or trustee, and which insurance on the life of any one family member other than a spouse shall not be in excess of fifty percent of the insurance on the life of the insured employee or member or two thousand dollars, whichever is less.

Insurance on the life of a spouse of an insured employee or member shall not exceed ((~~fifty percent of~~)) the amount of insurance on the life of the insured employee or member.

Premiums for the insurance on such family members shall be paid by the policyholder, either from the employer's funds or funds contributed by him, trustee's funds, or labor union funds, and/or from funds contributed by the insured employees or members, or from both.

(2) Such a spouse insured pursuant to this section shall have the same conversion right as to the insurance on his or her life as is vested in the employee or member under this chapter.

Sec. 2. Section 1, chapter 44, Laws of 1979 ex. sess. and RCW 48.24.045 are each amended to read as follows:

The lives of a group of individuals may be insured under a policy issued to an association which has been in active existence for at least one year, which has a constitution and bylaws, and which has been organized and is maintained in good faith for purposes other than that of obtaining insurance. Under this group life insurance policy, the association shall be deemed the policyholder. The policy may insure association employees, members, or their employees. Beneficiaries under the policy shall be persons other than the association or its officers or trustees, except that the association may be a beneficiary of a scholarship endowment fund. The term "employees" as used in this section may include retired employees.

Sec. 3. Section .24.06, chapter 79, Laws of 1947 as last amended by section 5, chapter 152, Laws of 1973 1st ex. sess. and by section 8 chapter 163, Laws of 1973 1st ex. sess. and RCW 48.24.060 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

The lives of a group of public employees may be insured under a policy issued to the departmental head or to a trustee, or issued to an association of public employees formed for purposes other than obtaining insurance and having, when the policy is placed in force, a membership in the classes eligible for insurance of not less than seventy-five percent of the number of employees eligible for membership in such classes, which department head or trustee or association shall be deemed the policyholder, to insure such employees for the benefit of persons other than the policyholder or any of its officials, subject to the following requirements:

(1) The persons eligible for insurance under the policy shall be all of the employees of the department or members of the association, or all of any class or classes thereof determined by conditions pertaining to their employment, or to membership in the association, or both.

(2) The premium for the policy shall be paid by the policyholder, in whole or in part either from salary deductions authorized by, or charges collected from, the insured employees or members specifically for the insurance, or from the association's own funds, or from both. Any such deductions from salary may be paid by the employer to the association or directly to the insurer. No policy may be placed in force unless and until at least seventy-five percent of the then eligible employees or association members, excluding any as to whom evidence of individual insurability is not satisfactory to the insurer, have elected to be covered and have authorized their employer to make any required deductions from salary.

(3) The rate of charges to the insured employees or members specifically for the insurance, and the dues of the association if they include the cost of insurance, shall be determined according to each attained age or in not less than four reasonably spaced attained age groups. In no event shall the rate of such dues or charges be level for all members regardless of attained age,except that any association providing benefits for members of the national guard may establish a level rate for all such members.

(4) The policy must cover at least twenty-five persons at date of issue.

(5) The amounts of insurance under the policy must be based upon some plan precluding individual selection either by the employees or members or by the association. Such amounts shall in no event exceed fifteen thousand dollars of life insurance in the case of any employee or member, and the amount of life insurance shall not exceed one thousand five hundred dollars in the case of retired employees or members and persons over age sixty-five.

As used herein, "public employees" means employees of the United States government, or of any state, or of any political subdivision or instrumentality of any of them.