2019 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 59A - Insurance Code
Article 20A - Viatical Settlements
Section 59A-20A-2 - Definitions.

As used in the Viatical Settlements Act:

A. "broker" means a person or his authorized representative who on behalf of a viator and for a fee, commission or other valuable consideration offers or attempts to negotiate viatical settlements between a viator and one or more providers. "Broker" does not include an attorney, accountant or financial planner retained by the viator to represent him;

B. "financing entity" means an underwriter, placement agent, lender, purchaser of securities, credit enhancer, purchaser of a policy or certificate from a provider or any other person who may be a party to a contract and who has a direct ownership in a policy or certificate that is the subject of a contract but whose sole activity related to the transaction is providing funds to effect the viatical settlement and who has an agreement in writing with a provider to act as a participant in a financing transaction;

C. "financing transaction" means a transaction in which a provider or a financing entity obtains financing for contracts or viaticated policies or interests in such contracts or policies, including any secured or unsecured financing, any securitization transaction or any securities offering either registered or exempt from registration under federal and state securities law, or any direct purchase of interests in a policy or certificate;

D. "provider" means a person or his authorized representative who obtains financing from a financing entity for the purchase, acquisition, transfer or other assignment of one or more viatical settlement contracts or viaticated policies or interests in such contracts or policies, or otherwise sells, assigns, transfers, pledges, hypothecates or otherwise disposes of one or more viatical settlement contracts or viaticated policies or interests in such contracts or policies. Provider does not include:

(1) a bank, savings bank, savings and loan association, credit union or other lending institution that takes an assignment of a life insurance policy as collateral for a loan;

(2) the issuer of a life insurance policy providing accelerated benefits under and pursuant to the contract; or

(3) a natural person who enters into no more than one agreement in a calendar year for the transfer of life insurance policies for any value less than the expected death benefit;

E. "viatical settlement contract" means a written agreement entered into between a provider and a viator;

F. "viaticated policy" means a life insurance policy or certificate that has been acquired by a provider pursuant to a viatical settlement contract; and

G. "viator" means the owner of a life insurance policy or a certificate holder under a group policy insuring the life of a person with a catastrophic, life-threatening or chronic illness or condition who enters or seeks to enter into a viatical settlement contract.

History: Laws 1999, ch. 246, § 2.

Effective dates. — Laws 1999, ch. 246, § 13, made the Viatical Settlements Act effective July 1, 2000.