§432:1-104  Definitions.  For thepurposes of this article:

(1)  Commissioner means the insurance commissioner ofthe State of Hawaii.

(2)  Mutual benefit society is any corporation,unincorporated association, society, or entity:

(A)  Organized and carried on for the primarybenefit of its members and their beneficiaries and not for profit, and:

(i)  Making provision for the payment ofbenefits in case of sickness, disability, or death of its members, ordisability, or death of its members' spouses or reciprocal beneficiaries orchildren, or

(ii)  Making provision for the payment of anyother benefits to or for its members,

whether or not the amount of thebenefits is fixed or rests in the discretion of the society, its officers, orany other person or persons; and the fund from which the payment of thebenefits shall be defrayed is derived from assessments or dues collected fromits members, and the payment of death benefits is made to the familiesincluding reciprocal beneficiaries, heirs, blood relatives, or persons named byits members as their beneficiaries; or

(B)  Organized and carried on for any purpose,which:

(i)  Regularly requires money to be paid to itby its members, whether the money be in the form of dues, subscriptions,receipts, contributions, assessments or otherwise, and

(ii)  Provides for the payment of any benefit orbenefits or the payment of any money or the delivery of anything of value toits members or their relatives including reciprocal beneficiaries, or to anyperson or persons named by its members as their beneficiaries, or to any classof persons which includes or may include its members,

whether or not the amount or value ofthe benefit, benefits, money, or thing of value is fixed, or rests in thediscretion of the society, its officers, or any other person or persons; or

(C)  Organized and carried on for any purpose,whose requirements and provisions although not identical with, are determinedby the commissioner to be substantially similar to, those enumerated insubparagraphs (A) and (B).

Participating in a prepaid legal serviceplan subject to chapter 488 shall not in itself make a corporation,unincorporated association, society, or entity a mutual benefit society andsubject to this article. [L 1987, c 347, pt of §2; am L 1993, c 350, §18; am L1997, c 383, §60]

 

Attorney General Opinions

 

  Effect of amendment to section [by L 1997, c 383] was toallow, but not require, a mutual benefit society to make provision for paymentof benefits to reciprocal beneficiaries.  Att. Gen. Op. 97-5.