Returned Soldiers’ Insurance Act

An Act to provide for the Insurance of Returned Soldiers by the Dominion of Canada His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows: Short title This Act may be cited as The Returned Soldiers’ Insurance Act. Definitions In this Act and in any regulation, unless the context otherwise requires, brother includes a half-brother and sister includes a half-sister; (frère et soeur) child includes, a legally adopted child; a stepchild who is designated by the insured as a beneficiary and in such designation is described either by name or as a stepchild; and a child acknowledged or maintained by the insured or for whom the insured has been judicially ordered to provide support; (enfant) common-law partner, in relation to an individual, means a person who is cohabiting with the individual in a conjugal relationship, having so cohabited for a period of at least one year; (conjoint de fait) grandchild means a child as above defined of a child as above defined; (petit-enfant) Minister means the Minister of Veterans Affairs or such other Minister as the Governor in Council may from time to time determine; (Ministre) parent includes a father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, stepfather, stepmother, foster-father, foster-mother, of either the insured or the spouse or common-law partner of the insured; (parent) regulation means a regulation made under the provisions of this Act; (règlement) returned soldier means any person, male or female, who served as an officer or warrant officer or who enlisted or was enrolled or was drafted for service in the naval, military or air forces of Canada in the Great War, or having been domiciled and resident in Canada on the 4th day of August, 1914, has served in any of His Majesty’s naval, military or air forces in the said war; or, having been domiciled and resident as aforesaid, has served in the naval, military or air forces of one of His Majesty’s Allies or Associated Powers in the Great War; and who has been retired or obtained honourable discharge therefrom; (soldat de retour) widow means the widow of a returned soldier who has died after retirement or honourable discharge from service and before the expiration of twelve months from the coming into force of this Act; (veuve) widower means the widower of a returned soldier who has died after retirement or honourable discharge from service and before the expiration of twelve months from the coming into force of this Act; (veuf) the insured means any person with whom the Minister enters into a contract under this Act. (l’assuré) Insurance and limits thereof The Minister may enter into an insurance contract with any returned soldier or with any widow or widower, providing for the payment of five hundred dollars or any multiple thereof, not, however, exceeding five thousand dollars in the event of the death of the insured. How payable Payment under an insurance contract shall be made on the death of the insured in an amount that, at the option of the insured, is the full face value of the policy or any lesser amount, and the remainder, if any, or the portion thereof to which any beneficiary is entitled, shall, at the option of the insured, be payable as an annuity certain for five, ten, fifteen or twenty years; a life annuity; or an annuity guaranteed for five, ten, fifteen or twenty years and payable thereafter as long as the beneficiary may live. Payment of annuity in a lump sum or otherwise Notwithstanding anything in this Act, where, at the death of the insured, any insurance money is being paid or is to be paid as an annuity to any beneficiary, such money shall, upon the request of the beneficiary, be paid in a lump sum or in any other manner provided for in subsection (2) as the beneficiary may request. [Repealed, 1951, c. 59, s. 2] Who are the beneficiaries Where the insured has a spouse, common-law partner or children, the beneficiary shall, subject to subsections (4) and (5), be the spouse, common-law partner or children of the insured, or some one or more of such persons. Where the insured has no spouse, common-law partner or children, the beneficiary shall, subject to subsections (4) and (5) and section 5, be the future spouse, future common-law partner or future children of the insured, or some one or more of such persons. Apportionment of insurance money Where the insured designates more than one beneficiary, the insured may apportion, and may at any time reapportion, the insurance money between or among them as he sees fit, and, in default of any such apportionment, the insurance money shall be paid in equal shares to the designated beneficiaries surviving the insured. New designation where death of beneficiary Where a designated beneficiary dies in the lifetime of the insured, the insured may, subject to subsections (1) and (2), designate a beneficiary or beneficiaries to whom the share formerly apportioned to the deceased beneficiary shall be paid, and, in default of any such designation, the said share shall be divided equally among the surviving designated beneficiaries, if any. Where no designated beneficiary Where the insured does not designate a beneficiary, or where all of the beneficiaries designated by him die within his lifetime, the insurance money shall be paid to the spouse, the common-law partner and the children of the insured in equal shares, and if the insured survives the spouse, the common-law partner and all the children of the insured and there is no contingent beneficiary within the meaning of section 5 surviving the insured, the insurance money shall be paid, as it falls due or otherwise as the Minister may determine, to the estate or succession of the insured. [Repealed, 2000, c. 12, s. 279] Designation of contingent beneficiaries The insured may designate as a contingent beneficiary a grandchild, parent, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece or first cousin of the insured or such other person as may by regulation be prescribed for the purposes of this section, or some one or more of such persons, to whom the insurance money or any portion thereof shall be paid in the event that the insured at the time of his death has no spouse, common-law partner or children. Payment to contingent beneficiaries or to estate or succession Where the insured survives the spouse, the common-law partner and all the children of the insured, the insurance money shall be paid to the contingent beneficiary or beneficiaries, if any, but in default of the designation of a contingent beneficiary, or in the event of the death of all the contingent beneficiaries within the lifetime of the insured, the insurance money shall be paid, as it falls due or otherwise as the Minister may determine, to the estate or succession of the insured. Apportionment among contingent beneficiaries Where the insured designates more than one contingent beneficiary, the insured may apportion, and may at any time reapportion, the insurance money between or among them as he sees fit, and, in default of any such apportionment, the insurance money shall be paid in equal shares to the contingent beneficiaries surviving the insured. Death of contingent beneficiaries Where a contingent beneficiary dies in the lifetime of the insured, the insured may, subject to subsection (1), designate a contingent beneficiary or beneficiaries to whom the share formerly apportioned to the deceased contingent beneficiary shall be paid, and, in default of any such designation, the said share shall be divided equally among the contingent beneficiaries, if any, surviving the insured. Change of beneficiaries, etc. Subject to the provisions of this Act, the insured may at any time change the beneficiary or beneficiaries, or the contingent beneficiary or beneficiaries, or vary the option as to the mode of payment or the apportionment of the insurance money, by so stating in a document that is satisfactory to the Minister. Variation of option by beneficiary Any option, chosen by the insured, as to the mode of payment of the insurance money to a beneficiary or contingent beneficiary, may, after the death of the insured, be varied by such beneficiary or contingent beneficiary with the consent of the Minister. Payment to estate or succession of deceased beneficiary Where a beneficiary or contingent beneficiary survives the insured but dies before receiving all of the insurance money to which under the contract of insurance such beneficiary or contingent beneficiary is entitled, the remaining unpaid money shall be paid, as it falls due or otherwise as the Minister may determine, to the estate or succession of the deceased beneficiary or deceased contingent beneficiary. Disability benefits and waiver of premiums where total and permanent disability Where an insured becomes totally and permanently disabled and is thereby rendered incapable of pursuing any substantially gainful occupation, the premiums thereafter falling due under the contract shall be waived during the continuance of such disability and the insured shall be entitled to receive as a disability benefit the payment of the sum insured in instalments not exceeding one-twentieth of the sum insured for each year of total and permanent disability, the said benefit to continue during the continuance of such disability but not to exceed payment for twenty years in all. Where insured dies before full disability benefits paid Where the insured dies before the total payment of disability benefits under subsection (1) equals the sum insured, the balance of the sum insured shall be payable as a death benefit. Disability benefit not payable if insured received pension under Pension Act, etc. Subsection (1) does not apply where the total and permanent disability of an insured is due to a disability of the insured in respect of which he receives or is entitled to receive a pension under the Pension Act or under the corresponding pension laws of the United Kingdom or of any of His Majesty’s Dominions or of His Majesty’s Government or of any of His Majesty’s Allies or Associated Powers in the Great War; or allowances while receiving treatment by the Department of Veterans Affairs on account of war disability. Where deemed to be totally and permanently disabled Where his total disability has existed continuously for a period of at least one year, the insured shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be totally and permanently disabled. Premiums payable after discontinuance of disability based upon reduced amount of insurance Where, otherwise than by reason of the death of the insured, the insured ceases to be entitled to waiver of premiums under subsection (1), the premiums payable thereafter shall be based upon the reduced amount of insurance under the contract of insurance, namely, the sum insured less the aggregate of the disability benefits paid to the insured under subsection (1). [Repealed, 1958, c. 41, s. 3] Waiver of premiums after eighty-fifth birthday Notwithstanding the provisions of this Act or the terms of any contract of insurance made thereunder, premiums falling due on or after the anniversary of his contract nearest the eighty-fifth birthday of the insured shall be waived. Premiums The insurance contract may provide for the payment of a single premium or of premiums uniform throughout the lifetime of the insured, or during the lifetime of the insured for a period of ten, fifteen or twenty years, or until he attains the age of sixty-five years. Idem The premiums payable under the various plans of contract shall be those shown in the Schedule to this Act. Insured or beneficiary may be a Member of Parliament Notwithstanding the Senate and House of Commons Act or any other law, no person, by reason only of his entering into a contract of insurance or receiving a benefit under this Act, is liable to any forfeiture or penalty imposed by the Senate and House of Commons Act or disqualified as a member of the House of Commons or incapable of being elected to, or of sitting or voting in the House of Commons. Insurance unassignable and not liable to creditors The insurance money payable under the contract shall be unassignable and shall not be subject to the claims of creditors of the insured or of the beneficiary. When insured treated as if dead If the death of the insured has not been proved in accordance with the regulations made under paragraph 15(b) but the Minister is satisfied, after efforts satisfactory to the Minister have been made, that the insured has died or cannot be located, the Minister shall, subject to this section, apply this Act as if the insured had died on a date specified by the Minister. Definition of “Ministerial payment” In subsection (3), “Ministerial payment” means an amount of insurance money that is payable by virtue of the operation of subsection (1) and would not be payable in the absence of its operation. Agreement to repay Minister The Minister shall not make a Ministerial payment unless the person to whom that payment is to be made agrees in writing, in such form as is prescribed by the Minister, to repay to the Minister the amount of that payment in the event that the insured referred to in subsection (1) is subsequently determined by the Minister to be alive. When beneficiary or contingent beneficiary treated as if dead If, after the insured’s death, the death of a beneficiary or contingent beneficiary has not been proved in accordance with the regulations made under paragraph 15(b) but the Minister is satisfied, after efforts satisfactory to the Minister have been made, that that beneficiary or contingent beneficiary died within the insured’s lifetime or cannot be located, the Minister shall, subject to this section, apply this Act as if that beneficiary or contingent beneficiary had died within the insured’s lifetime. The Minister shall not make a Ministerial payment unless the person to whom that payment is to be made agrees in writing, in such form as is prescribed by the Minister, to repay to the Minister the amount of that payment in the event that the beneficiary or contingent beneficiary referred to in subsection (1) is subsequently determined by the Minister to be alive. Regulations The Governor in Council may, for the purposes of this Act, make regulations, prescribing such forms as he may consider necessary under this Act; prescribing the mode of proving the age, identity and existence or death of persons; prescribing the mode of paying money in connection with insurance contracts; dispensing with the production of probate of a will or letters of administration, either generally or in any particular case or class of cases; prescribing the accounts to be kept and their management; determining before hand the cases or classes of cases in which an insurance contract may be surrendered and a cash surrender value paid therefor, or a paid-up insurance contract issued instead thereof and for prescribing the manner in which such cash surrender value or amount of paid-up insurance shall be determined; determining the cases, not otherwise provided for in this Act, in which a person not originally named as, but who is eligible under this Act to be a beneficiary, may be made a beneficiary; determining the cases, not otherwise provided for in this Act, in which an apportionment of the insurance money may be made or varied; prescribing the class or classes of persons other than those mentioned in sections 4 and 5 who are entitled to be beneficiaries; determining the cases in which a dependent, other than the spouse, common-law partner or child, of the insured may be named as a beneficiary under the contract; determining in cases not otherwise provided for by the contract or by declaration or by this Act, the person or persons entitled to the share and the apportionment thereof in the death benefit of any beneficiary dying before the payment of instalments of the said benefit has been completed; and, any other purpose for which it is deemed expedient to make regulations in order to carry this Act into effect. Moneys received to go to C.R.F. The moneys received under the provisions of this Act shall form part of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, and the moneys payable under the said provisions shall be payable out of the said Consolidated Revenue Fund. Annual statement The Minister shall cause a statement to be prepared within three months after the end of each fiscal year showing, the premiums received during the fiscal year; the insurance moneys paid during the fiscal year; the number and amount of contracts in force at the end of the fiscal year; and such further information as the Minister deems advisable. To be laid before Parliament Every such statement shall be laid before Parliament as soon as may be after it is prepared. Time extended three years for receiving applications Applications for insurance may be received under this Act up to and including the 31st day of August, 1933, but shall not be received thereafter. [Renumbered to section 17] [Renumbered to section 18] [Repealed, 1951, c. 59, s. 14] NOTE. — Rates for ages above 65 will be computed on the same basis as those shown above, and will be furnished on application.