Wesley C. and Rhonda A. Wickum - Page 16

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          insurance.                                                                  
               North Dakota law distinguishes between life insurance, on              
          the one hand, and accident and health insurance, on the other.              
          Title 26.1 of the North Dakota Century Code is styled                       
          "Insurance", and within this title are separate chapters entitled           
          "Life Insurance" (chapter 26.1-33) and "Accident and Health                 
          Insurance" (chapter 26.1-36).  Insurance companies selling both             
          types of insurance are required to report separately on their               
          activities to the North Dakota Commissioner of Insurance.                   
          Although chapter 26.1-33 does not provide a definition of life              
          insurance, the chapter does mandate certain mortality tables and            
          interest rate assumptions for life insurance sold in the State,             
          see N.D. Cent. Code secs. 26.1-33-22 and 26.1-33-23 (1995), which           
          are not required with respect to accident and health insurance.             
          Most significantly, with respect to petitioners' argument that a            
          death benefit transforms an accident policy into a life insurance           
          policy, chapter 26.1-36 provides a definition of accident and               
          health insurance that encompasses the provision of death                    
          benefits, as follows:  "'Accident and health insurance policy'              
          includes any contract policy insuring against loss resulting from           
          sickness or bodily injury, or death by accident, or both."  N.D.            
          Cent. Code sec. 26.1-36-02 (1995) (emphasis added).  Thus, North            
          Dakota law contemplates that accident policies may contain death            
          benefits.  This feature does not result in their classification             
          as life insurance policies.  We conclude that petitioner sold               




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