PETITION OF:

SECTION 1.

Chapter one hundred and seventy-five of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following new section:—
            Section 132A. (1) It is hereby declared to be an unfair and deceptive trade practice in violation of chapter ninety-three A for any company licensed under chapter one hundred and seventy-five of the General Laws to provide life insurance coverage on any person through a policy or certificate of coverage delivered on or after January 1, 2001, to or on behalf of such person in Massachusetts, unless the benefit payable at death under such policy or certificate will equal or exceed the cumulative premiums, as defined in subsection (4) of this section, paid for the policy or certificate, plus interest thereon at the rate of four percent per annum compounded annually to the tenth anniversary of the effective date of coverage.
            (2) This section applies to death benefits in relation to premiums, subject to the following provisions:
            (a) When determining the relationship between benefits and premiums as set forth in subsection (1) of this section, neither premiums nor death benefits shall be adjusted for maturity benefits, surrender benefits, or policy loans.
            (b) Annuity benefits, including annuity death benefits, and the premiums therefor shall be disregarded in applying this section.
            (c) The following benefits, but not the premiums therefor, shall be disregarded in applying this section:
            (i) Accidental death benefits;
            (ii) Permanent disability benefits; and
            (iii) Any benefit similar to (c)(i) or (ii) of this subsection.
            (3) For coverage which varies by duration, including coverage provided through dividends, the “benefit payable at death” for purposes of this section is the sum of the least death benefit during each policy year, for the lesser of ten years or the term of the coverage, including renewals, divided by the number of death benefits included in said sum.
            (4) “Cumulative premiums,” for purposes of this section, means all sums paid as consideration, net of dividends paid in cash in an orderly progression, for the coverage during the first ten years of the coverage, excluding amounts which are designated in the policy or certificate as providing for annuity benefits.
            (5) The benefits required by this section shall be provided contractually.
            (6) This section does not apply to:
            (a) Life insurance where the minimum death benefit is twenty-five thousand dollars or more; or
            (b) Coverage under group life insurance policies unless the insured pays all or substantially all of the premium and coverage under individual conversions from such excluded policies; or
            (c) Limited payment whole life insurance where the premiums are level at all times, if the least death benefit payable at any time equals or exceeds the total of all premiums which, in the absence of death, would have been paid over the entire limited payment period.
            (7) This section does not apply with respect to optional additional contributions paid to the insurer or fraternal benefit society under the terms of a universal life policy, which policy:
            (a) Provides a guaranteed plan of insurance of at least ten years’ duration on the basis of specified premiums and complies with subsections (1) through (5) of this section; and
            (b) Contains a carefully expressed provision which clearly, fairly, and fully discloses the optional plan and the choice to participate therein; and
            (c) Is designed so that the charges for, and the benefits to be derived from, the optional contributions are no less favorable to the insured than those which are applicable to the guaranteed plan required by (a) of this subsection.