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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>57209</law_id><section_number>38.2-102</section_number><catch_line>Life</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2025/" slug="2025" current="TRUE" last_updated="">2025</edition><referred_to_by><reference>38.2-106</reference><reference>38.2-1311</reference><reference>38.2-1401</reference><reference>38.2-1800</reference><reference>38.2-1837</reference><reference>38.2-1902</reference><reference>38.2-232</reference><reference>38.2-3100</reference><reference>38.2-3116</reference><reference>38.2-3902</reference><reference>58.1-2500</reference><reference>58.1-2501</reference></referred_to_by><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="1" identifier="38.2">Insurance</unit><unit label="chapter" level="2" order_by="1" identifier="1">General Provisions</unit><unit label="article" level="3" order_by="1" identifier="2">Insurance Classified and Defined</unit></structure><text>
						<section id="A"><p><span class="prefix-number">A.</span> &#x201C;Life insurance&#x201D; means insurance upon the lives of human beings. &#x201C;Life insurance&#x201D; includes policies that also provide (i) endowment benefits; (ii) additional benefits incidental to a loss in the event of death, dismemberment, or loss by accident or accidental means; (iii) additional benefits to safeguard the <span class="dictionary">contract</span> from lapse or to provide a special surrender value, a special benefit or an annuity, in the event of total and permanent disability of the insured; and (iv) optional modes of <span class="dictionary">settlement</span> of proceeds. As used in this title, unless the context requires otherwise, &#x201C;life insurance&#x201D; shall be deemed to include &#x201C;credit life insurance,&#x201D; &#x201C;industrial life insurance,&#x201D; &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">variable life insurance</span>&#x201D; and &#x201C;modified guaranteed life insurance.&#x201D; <a id="paragraph-209570" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/38.2-102/#A"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="B"><p><span class="prefix-number">B.</span> &#x201C;Life insurance&#x201D; also includes additional benefits to provide for educational loans, subject to the provisions of &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Educational loan provisions in life insurance policies" href="/38.2-3113.3/">38.2-3113.3</a>. <a id="paragraph-209571" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/38.2-102/#B"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="C"><p><span class="prefix-number">C.</span> &#x201C;Life insurance&#x201D; also includes additional benefits providing specified disease coverage or limited benefit health coverage, subject to compliance with the minimum standards established by the <span class="dictionary">Commission</span> for such benefits pursuant to &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Minimum standards for excepted benefits" href="/38.2-3519/">38.2-3519</a>. Such additional benefits may be combined in an individual policy, or added as a rider to the policy, provided that the <span class="dictionary">insurer</span> offering such additional benefits is licensed to transact the business of accident and sickness insurance and complies with the <span class="dictionary">rate</span> and form filing requirements of the <span class="dictionary">Commission</span>&#x2019;s rules governing the filing of <span class="dictionary"><span class="dictionary">rates</span></span> for individual and certain group accident and sickness insurance policy forms (14VAC5-130-10 et seq.), as amended. <a id="paragraph-209572" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/38.2-102/#C"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section></text><history>1952, c. 317, &#xA7; 38.1-3; 1976, c. 562; 1986, c. 562; 1992, c. 210; 2000, c. 173; 2011, c. 186; 2012, c. 673.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
