Ohio Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association
Notice Concerning Coverage Limitations and Exclusions under the Ohio Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association Act
Residents of Ohio who purchase life insurance, annuities or health insurance should know that the insurance companies licensed in this state to write these types of insurance are members of the Ohio Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association. The purpose of this association is to assure that policyholders will be protected, within limits, in the unlikely event that a member insurer becomes financially unable to meet its obligations. If this should happen, the guaranty association will assess its other member insurance companies for the money to pay the claims of insured persons who live in this state and, in some cases, to keep coverage in force. The valuable extra protection provided by these insurers through the guaranty association is not unlimited, however. And, as noted in the box below, this protection is not a substitute for consumers’ care in selecting companies that are well-managed and financially stable.
The Ohio Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association may not provide coverage for this policy. If coverage is provided, it may be subject to substantial limitations or exclusions, and require continued residency in Ohio. You should not rely on coverage by the Ohio Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association in selecting an insurance company or in selecting an insurance policy.
Coverage is NOT provided for your policy or any portion of it that is not guaranteed by the insurer or for which you have assumed the risk, such as a variable contract sold by prospectus. You should check with your insurance company representative to determine if you are only covered in part or not covered at all.
Insurance companies or their agents are required by law to give or send you this notice. However, insurance companies and their agents are prohibited by law from using the existence of the guaranty association to induce you to purchase any kind of insurance policy.
Ohio Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association
485 Metro Place S, Suite 270
Dublin, OH 43017
Ohio Department of Insurance
50 West Town Street Third Floor – Suite 300
Columbus, OH 43215
The state law that provides for this safety-net coverage is called the Ohio Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association Act. On the back of this page is a brief summary of this law’s coverages, exclusions and limits. This summary does not cover all provisions of the law nor does it in any way change anyone’s rights or obligations under the act or the rights or obligations of the guaranty association.
COVERAGE
Generally, individuals will be protected by the life and health insurance guaranty association if they live in Ohio and hold a life or health insurance contract, annuity contract, unallocated annuity contract; if they are insured under a group insurance contract, issued by a member insurer; or if they are the payee or beneficiary of a structured settlement annuity contract. The beneficiaries, payees or assignees of insured persons are protected as well, even if they live in another state.
EXCLUSIONS FROM COVERAGE
However, persons holding such policies are not protected by this association if:
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they are eligible for protection under the laws of another state (this may occur when the insolvent insurer was incorporated in another state whose guaranty association protects insureds who live outside that state);
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the insurer was not authorized to do business in this state;
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their policy was issued by a medical, health or dental care corporation, an HMO, a fraternal benefit society, a mutual protective association or similar plan in which the policyholder is subject to future assessments, or by an insurance exchange.
The association also does not provide coverage for:
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any policy or portion of a policy which is not guaranteed by the insurer or for which the individual has assumed the risk, such as a variable contract sold by prospectus;
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any policy of reinsurance (unless an assumption certificate was issued);
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interest rate yields that exceed an average rate;
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dividends;
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credits given in connection with the administration of a policy by a group contract holder;
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employers’ plans to the extent they are self-funded (that is, not insured by an insurance company, even if an insurance company administers them).
LIMITS OF AMOUNT OF COVERAGE
The act also limits the amount the association is obligated to pay out: The association cannot pay more than what the insurance company would owe under a policy or contract. Also, for any one insured life, the association will pay a maximum of $300,000, except as specified below, no matter how many policies and contracts there were with the same company, even if they provided different types of coverages. The association will not pay more than $100,000 in cash surrender values, $500,000 in major medical insurance benefits, $300,000 in disability or long-term care insurance benefits, $100,000 in other health insurance benefits, $250,000 in present value of annuities, or $300,000 in life insurance death benefits. Again, no matter how many policies and contracts there were with the same company, and no matter how many different types of coverages, the association will pay a maximum of $300,000, except for coverage involving major medical insurance benefits, for which the maximum of all coverages is $500,000.
Note to benefit plan trustees or other holders of unallocated annuities (GICs, DACs, etc.) covered by the act: For unallocated annuities that fund governmental retirement plans under §§401, 403(b) or 457 of the Internal Revenue Code, the limit is $250,000 in present value of annuity benefits including net cash surrender and net cash withdrawal per participating individual. In no event shall the association be liable to spend more than $300,000 in the aggregate per individual, except as noted above. For covered unallocated annuities that fund other plans, a special limit of $1,000,000 applies to each contract holder, regardless of the number of contracts held with the same company or number of persons covered. In all cases, of course, the contract limits also apply.
For more information about the Ohio Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association, visit our website at: www. olhiga.org.
As of 11/15/2018