Okla. Stat. tit. 36, § 36-4055.13

information on fraudulent acts - Liability - Antifraud initiatives.

A. 1. A person shall not commit a fraudulent viatical

settlement act.

2. A person shall not knowingly or intentionally interfere with

the enforcement of the provisions of the Viatical Settlements Act of

2008 or investigations of suspected or actual violations of the

Viatical Settlements Act of 2008.

3. 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. 1. Viatical settlements 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 is guilty

of a crime and may be subject to fines and confinement in prison.”

2. The lack of a statement as required in paragraph 1 of this

subsection does not constitute a defense in any prosecution for a

fraudulent viatical settlement act.

C. 1. Any person engaged in the business of viatical

settlements having knowledge or a reasonable suspicion that a

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fraudulent viatical settlement act is being, will be or has been

committed shall provide to the Insurance Commissioner such

information as required by, and in a manner prescribed by, the

Commissioner.

2. 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 Commissioner the information

required by, and in a manner prescribed by, the Commissioner.

D. 1. No civil liability shall be imposed on and no cause of

action shall arise from a person’s furnishing information concerning

suspected, anticipated or completed fraudulent viatical settlement

acts or suspected or completed fraudulent insurance acts, if the

information is provided to or received from:

a. the Commissioner or the Commissioner’s employees,

agents or representatives,

b. federal, state or local law enforcement or regulatory

officials or their employees, agents or

representatives,

c. a person involved in the prevention and detection of

fraudulent viatical settlement acts or that person’s

agents, employees or representatives,

d. the National Association of Insurance Commissioners

(NAIC), National Association of Securities Dealers

(NASD), the North American Securities Administrators

Association (NASAA), or their employees, agents or

representatives, or other regulatory body overseeing

life insurance, viatical settlements, securities or

investment fraud, or

e. the life insurer that issued the life insurance policy

covering the life of the insured.

2. Paragraph 1 of this subsection shall not apply to statements

made with actual malice. In an action brought against a person for

filing a report or furnishing other information concerning a

fraudulent viatical settlement act, the party bringing the action

shall plead specifically any allegation that paragraph 1 of this

subsection does not apply because the person filing the report or

furnishing the information did so with actual malice.

3. A person furnishing information as identified in paragraph 1

of this subsection shall be entitled to an award of attorney fees

and costs if he or she is the prevailing party in a civil cause of

action for libel, slander or any other relevant tort arising out of

activities in carrying out the provisions of the Viatical

Settlements Act of 2008 and the party bringing the action was not

substantially justified in doing so. For purposes of this section a

proceeding is “substantially justified” if it had a reasonable basis

in law or fact at the time that it was initiated. However, such an

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 36. Insurance Page 899
rt arising out of

activities in carrying out the provisions of the Viatical

Settlements Act of 2008 and the party bringing the action was not

substantially justified in doing so. For purposes of this section a

proceeding is “substantially justified” if it had a reasonable basis

in law or fact at the time that it was initiated. However, such an

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 36. Insurance Page 899

award does not apply to any person furnishing information concerning

his or her own fraudulent viatical settlement acts.

4. This section does not abrogate or modify common law or

statutory privileges or immunities enjoyed by a person described in

paragraph 1 of this subsection.

E. 1. The documents and evidence provided pursuant to

subsection D of this section or obtained by the Commissioner in an

investigation of suspected or actual fraudulent viatical settlement

acts shall be privileged and confidential and shall not be a public

record and shall not be subject to discovery or subpoena in a civil

or criminal action.

2. Paragraph 1 of this subsection does not prohibit release by

the Commissioner of documents and evidence obtained in an

investigation of suspected or actual fraudulent viatical settlement

acts:

a. in administrative or judicial proceedings to enforce

laws administered by the Commissioner,

b. to federal, state or local law enforcement or

regulatory agencies, to an organization established

for the purpose of detecting and preventing fraudulent

viatical settlement acts or to the NAIC, or

c. at the discretion of the Commissioner, to a person in

the business of viatical settlements that is aggrieved

by a fraudulent viatical settlement act.

3. Release of documents and evidence under paragraph 2 of this

subsection does not abrogate or modify the privilege granted in

paragraph 1 of this subsection.

F. This act 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;

3. Preempt, supersede, or limit any provision of any state

securities law or any rule, order, or notice issued thereunder; or

4. Limit the powers granted elsewhere by the laws of this state

to the Commissioner or an insurance fraud unit to investigate and

examine possible violations of law and to take appropriate action

against wrongdoers.

G. 1. Viatical settlement providers and viatical settlement

brokers shall have in place antifraud initiatives reasonably

calculated to detect, prosecute and prevent fraudulent viatical

settlement acts. At the discretion of the Commissioner, the

Commissioner may order, or a licensee may request and the

Commissioner may grant, such modifications of the following required

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initiatives as necessary to ensure an effective antifraud program.

The modifications may be more or less restrictive than the required

initiatives so long as the modifications may reasonably be expected

to accomplish the purpose of this section.

2. Antifraud initiatives shall include:

a. fraud investigators, who may be viatical settlement

provider or viatical settlement broker employees or

independent contractors, and

b. an antifraud plan, which shall be submitted to the

Commissioner. The antifraud plan shall include, but

not be limited to:

(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 Commissioner,
The antifraud plan shall include, but

not be limited to:

(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 Commissioner,

(3) a description of the plan for antifraud education

and training of underwriters and other personnel,

and

(4) a description or chart outlining the

organizational arrangement of the antifraud

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.

3. Antifraud plans submitted to the Commissioner shall be

privileged and confidential and shall not be a public record and

shall not be subject to discovery or subpoena in a civil or criminal

action.