Virginia Law

A. A person shall not commit a fraudulent viatical settlement act. A person shall not knowingly or intentionally interfere with the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter or Article 6.1 (§ 38.2-1865.1 et seq.) of Chapter 18 of this title or investigations of suspected or actual violations of this chapter or Article 6.1 (§ 38.2-1865.1 et seq.) of Chapter 18 of this title. A person in the business of viatical settlements shall not knowingly or intentionally permit any person convicted of a felony involving dishonesty or breach of trust to participate in the business of viatical settlements.

B. Viatical settlement contracts and applications for viatical settlements, regardless of the form of transmission, shall contain the following statement or a substantially similar statement: "Any person who knowingly presents false information in an application for insurance or viatical settlement contract may be guilty of a crime and subject to prosecution." The lack of the required statement does not constitute a defense in any prosecution for a fraudulent viatical settlement act.

C. Any person engaged in the business of viatical settlements having knowledge or a reasonable belief that a fraudulent viatical settlement act is being, will be, or has been committed shall provide to the Commission the information required by, and in a manner prescribed by, the Commission. Any other person having knowledge or a reasonable belief that a fraudulent viatical settlement act is being, will be, or has been committed may provide to the Commission the information required by, and in a manner prescribed by, the Commission.

D. This chapter shall not:

1. Preempt the authority or relieve the duty of other law enforcement or regulatory agencies to investigate, examine, and prosecute suspected violations of law;

2. Prevent or prohibit a person from disclosing voluntarily information concerning viatical settlement fraud to a law enforcement or regulatory agency other than the insurance department; or

3. Limit the powers granted elsewhere by the laws of this Commonwealth to the Commission or an insurance fraud unit to investigate and examine possible violations of law and to take appropriate action against wrongdoers.

E. 1. A viatical settlement provider shall within 60 days of licensure and annually thereafter by March 1 of each year certify to the Commission implementation of anti-fraud initiatives reasonably calculated to detect, prosecute, and prevent fraudulent viatical settlement acts.

2. A viatical settlement broker shall within 60 days of licensure affirm to the Commission implementation of fraud initiatives reasonably calculated to detect, prosecute, and prevent fraudulent viatical settlement acts. Upon renewal of such license, a viatical settlement broker shall affirm to the Commission that such fraud initiatives remain in place. A viatical settlement broker shall make its anti-fraud plan available to the Commission upon request.

3. Anti-fraud initiatives shall include:

a. Fraud investigators, who may be viatical settlement providers or viatical settlement broker employees or independent contractors; and

b. An anti-fraud plan that includes all of the following:

(1) A description of the procedures for detecting and investigating possible fraudulent viatical settlement acts and procedures for resolving material inconsistencies between medical records and insurance applications;

(2) A description of the procedures for reporting possible fraudulent viatical settlement acts to the Commission;

(3) A description of the plan for anti-fraud education and training of underwriters and other personnel; and

(4) A description or chart outlining the organizational arrangement of the anti-fraud personnel who are responsible for the investigation and reporting of possible fraudulent viatical settlement acts and investigating unresolved material inconsistencies between medical records and insurance applications.

F. Anti-fraud plans submitted to or obtained by the Commission and in the control or possession of the Commission shall be privileged and confidential, shall not be subject to inspection or review by the general public, shall not be subject to subpoena, and shall not be subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in any private civil or criminal action. However, the Commission is authorized to use the anti-fraud plans in the furtherance of any regulatory or legal action brought as a part of the Commission's duties.

2003, c. 717; 2023, c. 577.