amount of insurance would otherwise be effective, you will
not be eligible for the coverage or increase until you return
to active work. However, if the absence is on a non-work
day, coverage will not be delayed provided you were
actively at work on the work day immediately preceding
the non-work day.
Except as otherwise provided for in this certificate, you are
eligible to continue to be insured only while you remain
actively at work.
When does insurance become effective?
Insurance becomes effective on the date you meet all
eligibility requirements.
Death Benefit
What is the amount of the death benefit?
The amount of the death benefit is the amount of
insurance shown on the specifications page.
When will the death benefit be payable?
We will pay the death benefit upon receipt at our home
office of written proof satisfactory to us that you died while
insured under this certificate. All payments by us are
payable from our home office. The death benefit will be
paid in a single sum or by any other method agreeable to
us and the beneficiary.
Payment of the death benefit will extinguish our liability
under the certificate for which the death benefit has been
paid.
What are the proof of death requirements?
Your beneficiary or representative must request a death
claim be submitted by the MI HR Service Center* or the
Office of Retirement Services. This request should be
made as soon as reasonably possible.
You must notify the MI HR Service Center* or the Office of
Retirement Services as SOON as possible, but not later
than one year after death. Death claims submitted outside
of one year will not be accepted.
To whom will we pay the death benefit?
We will pay the death benefit to the beneficiary or
beneficiaries. You should designate a beneficiary or
beneficiaries when you first enroll under the plan. You
can change your beneficiary designation at any time,
provided all of the following are true:
(1) your coverage is in force; and
(2) we have written consent of all irrevocable
beneficiaries; and
(3) you have not assigned the ownership of your
insurance.
*Legislative, Judicial, House, Senate, or Auditor General
employees should contact their respective Human
Resource Office.
A beneficiary designation must be made in writing or by
any other method made available under the plan. Any
beneficiary designation shall take effect as of the date it is
signed, but will not affect any payment we make or action
we take before receiving the designation.
You may also choose to name a beneficiary that you
cannot change without the beneficiary’s consent. This is
called an irrevocable beneficiary.
If there is more than one beneficiary, each will receive an
equal share, unless you have requested another method
in your beneficiary designation. To receive the death
benefit, a beneficiary must be living at the time of your
death. In the event a beneficiary is not living at the time of
your death, that beneficiary’s portion of the death benefit
shall be equally distributed to the remaining surviving
beneficiaries. In the event of the simultaneous deaths of
you and a beneficiary, the death benefit will be paid as if
you survived the beneficiary.
If you designate your spouse as a beneficiary and
subsequently get divorced, that beneficiary designation is
automatically declared null and void as of the date of the
divorce. If you want your ex-spouse to be a beneficiary,
you must file a new beneficiary designation stating your
ex-spouse as beneficiary.
If there is no eligible beneficiary, or if you do not name
one, we will pay the death benefit to:
(1) your lawful spouse, if living; otherwise
(2) your natural or legally adopted child (children) in
equal shares, if living; otherwise
(3) your parents in equal shares, if living; otherwise
(4) your siblings in equal shares, if living; otherwise
(5) your estate.
Termination
When does your coverage terminate?
Your coverage ends at midnight on the earliest of:
(1) the last day of the pay period in which you are no
longer eligible; or
(2) the last day of the pay period in which you are no
longer approved for coverage by the Civil Service
Commission; or
(3) the day before you enter the Armed Forces on
full-time active duty (except for active duty of two
weeks or less); or
(4) the date the group policy is terminated; or
(5) the day you terminate pay status with the State; or
(6) the day you enter deferred retirement.
Your pay status will be considered terminated if we are so
notified by the Civil Service Commission or if the State
stops submitting premium for you.
If a lapse in coverage occurs between the date you
separate from employment and the date you begin
receiving retirement benefits, you are not eligible to again
08-31075 Minnesota Life 3
EdF89427 Rev 10-2023