376.148. Policyholders are members of mutual--voting rights--directors may alter articles--additional assessments prohibited. - Missouri Statutes

Policyholders are members of mutual--voting rights--directors mayalter articles--additional assessments prohibited.

376.148. 1. The articles of agreement of any mutual lifeinsurance corporation shall provide that each policyholder of thecorporation shall be a member of the corporation.

2. As used in this section, "policyholder" means the personinsured under an individual policy of life insurance, and theperson to whom any annuity or pure endowment is presently orprospectively payable by the terms of an individual annuity orpure endowment contract, except where the policy or contractdeclares some other person to be the owner or holder thereof, inwhich case such owner or policyholder shall be deemed thepolicyholder, and except in cases of assignment. In the case ofany individual policy or contract insuring two or more personsjointly or in case the policy or contract declares two or morepersons to be the owner, the persons insured or declared to bethe owner are considered as one policyholder. In case any suchpolicy or contract has been assigned by an assignment absolute onits face to an assignee other than the corporation and suchassignment is filed at the principal office of the corporation,then such assignee shall be deemed a policyholder, but for thepurpose of determining voting rights such assignment is noteffective until thirty days after it has been filed with thecorporation. Except as provided in this section an assignee of apolicy or contract shall not be deemed a policyholder.

3. The articles of agreement shall provide that eachpolicyholder who is insured in the sum of at least one thousanddollars, or who is the holder of an annuity which at normal dateof maturity requires the payment of one hundred dollars or moreannually, and whose insurance or contract of annuity is then inforce and has been in force for at least one year prior to apolicyholders' meeting, shall be entitled to only one vote,irrespective of the number of policies or contracts held by himor their amount.

4. The power to make, alter, amend, or repeal the articlesof agreement is vested in the board of directors or trustees,unless it is reserved to the members by the articles ofincorporation.

5. The articles of agreement of a mutual legal reserve lifeinsurance corporation shall provide that such corporation shallissue no policy of life insurance or annuity contract whichprovides for the payment of any assessment by any policyholder ormember in addition to the regular premium charged for suchinsurance or annuity.

(L. 1957 p. 224 § 10)