Chap. 291.—An ACT to define and classify industrial sick benefit companies
and associations.

Approved March 16, 1910.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That any cor-
poration, joint stock company or association, except fraternal beneficiary
associations as defined by chapter five of the act concerning the bureau
of insurance, approved March ninth, nineteen hundred and six, organized
under the laws of this or any other State, district, territory or foreign
country, that collects premiums, dues or assessments weekly from its
members or policyholders, and that issues policies of insurance that pro-
vide for the payment of weekly indemnity on account of sickness or acci-
dent in addition to a benefit in case of death, and that is not required
by its charter, by-laws, or by statute to maintain the legal reserve for said
death benefits, shall be held to be an industrial sick benefit company.

2. Such companies shall be governed by this act, by chapter four of
the act concerning the bureau of insurance, approved March ninth, nine-
teen hundred and six, as far as applicable, and by such additional laws
heretofore or hereafter enacted, as may be applicable to companies of this
class or their agents.

No such company shall issue, after the passage of this act, any con-
tract of insurance that does not provide for a weekly indemnity in case
of sickness or accident, nor shall any such company issue any contract
of straight life, limited payment life or endowment insurance, nor shall
any such company issue any contract that provides a surrender value in
case of lapse, nor any contract of insurance that provides a greater death
benefit than two hundred and fifty dollars ($250.00), nor a greater weekly
indemnity than ten dollars ($10.00) ).

The payment of death benefits shall be confined to the wife, husband,
family or blood relatives of the insured or relatives by marriage or
adoption, affianced husband or affianced wife, or to a person or persons
dependent on the insured, subject to the limitation and control of the
company as to the designation of beneficiaries within said classes, and
such beneficiaries cannot be changed, either by assignment or will, with-
out the consent of the company, to persons outside of the above classes.

3. Before any company or association embraced in this act shall be
licensed to transact business in this State it shall first comply with the
provisions of section twelve hundred and seventy-one of the Code, relat-
ing to the deposit of securities with the treasurer of the Commonwealth.

4, Any company or association embraced in this act doing business
in this State and qualified under existing laws at the time of the passage
of this act may qualify under the provisions of this act, and when such
company has qualified to transact business in this State under the pro-
visions of this act the commissioner of insurance shall notify the State
treasurer.

5. Every association or joint stock company embraced in the first sec-
tion of this act shall pay a specific license tax of two hundred dollars
($200.00) per annum for: the privilege of carry on its business in this
State, and in addition to such specific license tax shall pay a sum equal
to one dollar ($1.00) on every two hundred dollars ($200.00) of gross
premiums, dues or assessments collected, or obligations taken therefor,
derived from its business in this State, which fees, licenses and taxes
shall be paid in the same manner and at the same time as is required by
law of the regular life insurance companies, and said companies shall be
exempt from the payment of all town, county and municipal licenses,
taxes and fees: provided, that nothing in this act shall be construed to
relieve any such company from taxation on its real or personal property,
nor to relieve such companies from the tax for the maintenance of the
bureau of insurance, as required by section twenty-nine of chapter one of
the act concerning the bureau of insurance, approved March ninth, nine-
teen hundred and six: and provided further, that any industrial in-
surance company doing business on the legal reserve plan shall not be
required to pay any licenses, fees, or other taxes in excess of those re-
quired by this act on such part of its business as may be sick benefit
insurance, as defined in section one of this act as far as applicable, such
sick benefit insurance to be subject to the restrictions of this act as far
as applicable: and provided further, that such last mentioned companies
doing business on the legal reserve plan shall pay on all sick benefit
policies that provide a greater death benefit than two hundred and fifty
dollars ($250.00) or a greater weekly indemnity than ten dollars
($10.00) and on all other life, limited payment and endowment insur-
ance, the same licenses, fees and taxes as are required of all other legal
reserve companies. ,

Every agent, canvasser or solicitor representing any company qualli-
fied to transact business under this act shall be subject to the laws gov-
erning agents of insurance companies.

6. Such companies shall secure annually a license from the commis-
sioner of insurance, for which a fee of five dollars ($5.00) shall be paid,
as required by section thirteen of chapter two of the act concerning the
bureau of insurance, approved March ninth, nineteen hundred and six,
and the commissioner of insurance, before issuing said license, shall be
satisfied that the company applying for same has complied with all the
laws relating to companies embraced in this act, and is solvent; and for
this purpose the commissioner of insurance shall have authority, at any
time, to examine any company mentioned in this act, and shall possess
the same powers that are conferred upon him for examination of other
insurance companies. Such license shall expire on the thirtieth day of
April following its date, and all renewals shall be obtainable in the same
manner. .

7. Any company, association or joint stock company embraced in this
act doing business in this State, shall be under the supervision of the
bureau of insurance, and shall make annual reports and pay the per-
centage tax named in this act in the same manner and at the same time
as is required by the law of other insurance companies, and shall be sub-
ject to like penalties in case of failure. —

8. All companies, associations or joint stock companies hereafter or-

anized under the laws of this State for the purpose of transacting a sick
benefit business as defined in this act, shall have its purposes plainly stated
-n its charter or articles of incorporation, and shall be subject to the pro-
risions of this act and to the general laws governing corporations of this
+haracter.

9. Any corporation chartered under the laws of any other State, dis-
rict or territory of the United States or any foreign country, may qualify
o do business in this State under the provisions of this aet: provided,
hat it conforms to the requirements of chapter two of the act concerning
she bureau of insurance, approved March ninth, nineteen hundred and
31x, in regard to the admission of foreign companies: and provided, that
the commissioner of insurance is satisfied that the company is solvent
and in all respects qualified to transact business in this State.

10. Any company embraced in this act, any of whose policyholders
who, after the passage of this act, by insuring in several companies, so-
cleties or assocations, shall have policies or certificates of membership in
the aggregate calling for sick benefit in excess of one hundred and fifty
per centum of his or her weekly salary, wage, or earnings, unless the
existence of all previous policies was admitted by the insured in all the
applications for insurance in excess of said sum, shall not be compelled
to pay any weekly indemnities on policies issued in excess of said sum,
and should the insured, by misstatements, or by failure to admit the ex-
istence of previous policies, succeed in obtaining any such excess additional
policies of insurance and receive benefits thereunder in excess of the
amount above specified, then the excess amount so paid may be deducted
from the death benefit provided for in such policies. This section shall
not apply to any policy of insurance issued by any company in case the
application blank signed by the applicant for said policy did not con-
tain a question in regard to the amount of insurance carried by said
applicant, or if said application blank was printed in less than ten point,
or long primer, type.