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WY Life and Health Guaranty Association



NOTICE OF
PROTECTION PROVIDED BY
WYOMING LIFE AND HEALTH INSURANCE GUARANTY ASSOCIATION
 
    This notice provides a brief summary of the Wyoming Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association (“the Association” and the protection it provides for policyholders. This safety net was created under Wyoming law, which determines who and what is covered and the amounts of coverage.
 
    The Association was established to provide protection in the unlikely event that your life, annuity or health insurance company or health maintenance organization becomes financially unable to meet its obligations and is taken over by its Insurance Department. If this should happen, the Association will typically arrange to continue coverage and pay claims, in accordance with Wyoming law, with funding from assessments paid by other insurance companies and health maintenance organizations.
 
    The basic protections provided by the Association are:

  • Life Insurance

    • $300,000 in death benefits
    • $100,000 in cash surrender or withdrawal values
    • Health Insurance
    • $300,000 in health benefit plan benefits
    • $300,000 in disability insurance benefits
    • $300,000 in disability income insurance
    • $300,000 in long-term care insurance benefits
    • $100,000 in other types of health insurance benefits
  • Annuities
    • $250,000 in present value of benefits including net withdrawal and net cash values
    The maximum amount of protection for each individual, regardless of the number of policies or contracts, is $500,000.
 
    Note: Certain policies and contracts may not be covered or fully covered. For example, coverage does not extend to any portion(s) of a policy or contract that the insurer or health maintenance organization does not guarantee, such as certain investment additions to the account value of a variable life insurance policy or a variable annuity contract. There are also various residency requirements and other limitations under Wyoming law.

EXCLUSIONS FROM COVERAGE

    Policy owners, contract owners, policy holders, certificate holders and enrollees are not
protected by this Association if:

  • they are eligible for protection under the laws of another state (this may occur when the insolvent insurer or health maintenance organization was incorporated in another state whose guaranty association protects insureds who live outside that state);

  • the insurer or health maintenance organization was not authorized to do business in this state;

  • their policy was issued by a fraternal benefit society, a mandatory state pooling plan, a stipulated premium insurance company, a local mutual burial association, a mutual assessment company or similar plan in which the policy-holder is subject to future assessments, by an insurance exchange, or by an entity similar to those listed here.

    The Association also does not provide coverage for:

  • any policy or portion of a policy which is not guaranteed by the insurer or health maintenance organization or for which the individual has assumed the risk, such as a variable contract sold by prospectus, claims based on side letters or other documents, or misrepresentations of or regarding policy benefits;

  • any policy of reinsurance (unless an assumption certificate was issued pursuant to the reinsurance policy or contract);

  • interest rate yields that exceed an average rate or interest earned on an equity indexed policy;

  • dividends;

  • experience rating credits given in connection with the administration of a policy to a group contract holder;

  • annuity contracts issued by a nonprofit insurance company exclusively for the benefit of nonprofit educational institutions and their employees;

  • unallocated annuity contracts (which give rights to group contract holders, not individuals);

  • any plan or program of an employer or association that provides life, health or annuity benefits to its employees or members to the extent the plan is self-funded or uninsured;

  • an obligation that does not arise under the express written terms of the policy or contract;

  • any policy providing benefits under Medicare Part C, Medicare Part D or Medicaid;

  • rights to receive payments acquired through a structured settlement factoring transaction.

    To learn more about the above protections, protections relating to group contracts or retirement plans, and all exclusions from coverage, please visit the Association’s website at www.wylifega.org or contact:

Wyoming Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association
6700 N. Linder Rd, Suite 156, Box 139 Meridian, ID 83646
Toll Free:  (800) 362-0944
Fax:          (208) 968-0206
Website: www.wylifega.org   

Wyoming Department of Insurance 106 East 6th Avenue
Cheyenne, WY 82002
Phone:      (307) 777-7401
Toll Free:  (800) 438-5768
Fax:          (307) 777-2446
Website: doi.wyo.gov

    Insurance companies and agents are not allowed by Wyoming law to use the existence of the Association or its coverage to encourage you to purchase any form of insurance. 

    When selecting an insurance company, you should not rely Association coverage. If there is any inconsistency between this notice and Wyoming law, then Wyoming law will control.

Revised 07/2019