§ 1–622.08. Death claims; order of precedence; viatical settlements.

(a) Except as provided in subsection (a-1) of this section, the amount of group life insurance in force for an employee or annuitant at the date of the employee or annuitant death shall be paid, on the establishment of a valid claim, to the person or persons surviving at the date of the death of the employee or annuitant, in the following order of precedence:

(1) To the beneficiary or beneficiaries designated by the employee or annuitant in a signed and witnessed writing executed and filed before death;

(2) If there is no designated beneficiary, to the widow or widower of the employee or annuitant;

(3) If none of the above, to the child or children of the employee or annuitant and descendants of a deceased child or children by representation;

(4) If none of the above, to the parents or parent of the employee or annuitant;

(5) If none of the above, to the duly appointed personal representative of the estate of the employee or annuitant; or

(6) If none of the above, to the other next of kin of the employee or annuitant under the laws of the domicile of the employee or annuitant at the date of death.

(a-1)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, pursuant to rules and regulations prescribed by the Mayor, each policy purchased pursuant to § 1-622.05 shall provide that an insured employee or former employee who is terminally ill may make a viatical settlement, which is an irrevocable assignment of all the employee’s or former employee’s incidents of ownership in the policy. The assignment shall automatically cancel any designation of beneficiary the insured person might have made, and the insured person shall no longer have the right to designate a beneficiary. The assignee shall assume the right to convert the insurance when the insured employee’s employment circumstances would have provided this option to the insured employee.

(2) The assignment shall exclude accidental dismemberment insurance and family optional insurance.

(b) If no claim has been filed by any of the persons set forth in subsection (a) of this section or an assignee pursuant to subsection (a-1) of this section within 4 years of the date of death of an employee or annuitant, then the funds shall be deposited into the General Fund of the District of Columbia to be kept for safekeeping and disbursed in accordance with Chapter 1 of Title 41.