Cap. 16 Art. 1712BConsent of third party whose life is insured.

(1) Where the contract of insurance refers to the life of a third party, the consent in writing of such third party, or in case of persons who lack legal capacity of their lawful representative, to the entering into of the contract and to the sum assured, shall be required on pain of nullity of the contract.

(2) In the absence of consent as above provided the nullity of the contract may only be raised by the policyholder or the person whose life is assured and in such event all premia paid to the insurer shall be returned to the person who paid them.

(3) Consent given by a third party whose life is insured shall be irrevocable unless expressly stated otherwise in writing in the policy.

(4) Where consent is revocable as established in sub-article (3) and it is withdrawn by notice in writing to the policyholder and the insurer, and barring other arrangements between the parties to the contract, the contract of insurance shall terminate.

(5) In case of persons who lack legal capacity, where the lawful representative is himself the proposed policyholder, the prior consent of the Civil Court in its voluntary jurisdiction shall be required: Provided that where the lawful representatives are the parents of a child or any one of them, the consent of any one of the parents shall be sufficient:

Provided further that where the life assured is that of a minor it shall not be lawful for the life cover under the policy to exceed forty-six thousand and five hundred and eighty-seven euro and forty-seven cents (46,587.47) or such other amount as the Minister may prescribe from time to time by means of a notice in the Gazette.

(6) Such consent shall be presumed where the third party forms part of a defined class of persons whose lives are insured in accordance with terms and conditions of an insurance arrangement covered by a group policy to which such third party has agreed or subscribed, including any arrangement forming part of a person’s conditions of employment.

(7) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Code relating to assignment and pledge of rights -

(i) the assignment or pledge of a contract of life insurance, and

(ii) any designation or substitution in the beneficiary designated in such contract, or the assignment of such benefit, shall not be valid without the consent in writing of the third party whose life is insured, saving the provisions of any special laws in terms of which such consent may not be necessary for such transactions.