Chapter Third: Life Insurance

Article 994

Art. 994 - The life of a person may be insured by themselves or by a third party.

Article 995

Article 995 - Life insurance contracted by a third party on the head of the insured is void if the latter has not given his written consent thereto with indication of the insured sum. The consent of the insured must be given in writing for any transfer of the benefit of the contract taken out on his head by a third party.

Article 996

Art. 996 - It is prohibited for any person to contract life insurance in the event of death on the head of a minor under fifteen years of age, an interdicted person, or a person placed in an insane asylum. Any insurance contract entered into in violation of this prohibition is null and void. The nullity is pronounced upon the request of the insurer, the policyholder, or the representative of the incapacitated person. The premiums paid must be fully refunded. The insurer and the policyholder are, in addition, liable to a fine of 5 to 250 Lebanese-Syrian pounds for each insurance contract knowingly concluded in violation of this prohibition (See Article 30 of Law No. 89 of 7/9/1991). The provisions of this article do not preclude insurance, in the event of death, for the reimbursement of premiums paid in execution of a life insurance contract subscribed on the head of one of the persons referred to in the first paragraph of this article.

Article 997

Amended. No third party may enter into a guarantee conditional on the death of a person placed under judicial supervision without the permission of the supervisor. However, such permission does not dispense with the consent of the incapacitated person themselves, when required.

Article 998

Article 998 - The life insurance policy must indicate, in addition to the statements mentioned in article 964: 1) The names, given names, and date of birth of the insured. 2) The names and given names of the beneficiary, if there is a determined beneficiary. 3) the event or the term on which depends the due date of the insured sums. 4) the conditions of the reduction, if the contract implies the admission of the reduction in accordance with the provisions of articles 1012 and 1013.

Article 999

Art. 999 - Life insurance policies may be made to order, but they cannot be made to bearer. The endorsement of a life insurance policy to order must, under penalty of nullity, be dated, indicate the name of the beneficiary of the endorsement, and be signed by the endorser. The indication of the value provided is not required. The endorsement is only binding on the insurer insofar as it has been brought to its attention by registered letter or the insurer has recognized in writing the holder as the beneficiary of the policy.

Article 1000

1. Amended: The guarantor may undertake, under a special provision, to pay the guarantee amounts in the event of the intentional and voluntary suicide of the guaranteed person or in the event of the execution of a death sentence against them, provided that this provision shall not take effect until the expiration of a two-year period from the establishment of the contract. In the event of the execution of a death sentence, the date of the commission of the crime shall be considered for the purpose of calculating the deadline.

Article 1001

Amended. If the contract does not contain the clause specified in the preceding article, or if suicide or the crime that led to a death sentence occurred before the expiration of the two-year period mentioned, the guarantor must pay to the needy.

Article 1002

Article 1002 - The insured sums may be stipulated as payable: 1) in the event of the life of the insured, at a determined date. 2) upon the death of the insured. 3) either in the event of the life of the insured, at a determined time, or upon his death occurring before this time. The capital or annuity insured may be payable upon the death of the insured, either to his heirs and successors or to one or more determined beneficiaries. A stipulation is considered made for the benefit of determined beneficiaries, by which the insured attributes the benefit of the insurance either to the spouse without indication of name, or to his children and descendants born or to be born, without it being necessary to inscribe their names in the policy or in any other subsequent act containing attribution of the insured capital. The children and descendants of the insured thus designated have the right to the benefit of the insurance in proportion to their share of the succession. They retain this right, even in the event of renunciation of his succession. In the absence of designation of a determined beneficiary in the policy, or failing acceptance by the beneficiary therein designated, the subscriber of the policy has the right to designate a beneficiary or to substitute a beneficiary for another. This designation or this substitution is made either inter vivos, by way of rider, or, when the policy is to order, by way of endorsement, or by will.

Article 1003

Art. 1003 - The stipulation by which the benefit of the insurance is attributed to a specified beneficiary becomes irrevocable by the beneficiary's acceptance. This acceptance may be express or implied. As long as acceptance has not taken place, the right to revoke this stipulation belongs to the stipulator, but to them alone, to the exclusion of their creditors, legal representatives, and after their death, their heirs or legatees. The beneficiary's acceptance of the stipulation made in their favor or the revocation of this stipulation is only binding on the insurer when they have been informed of it. The attribution of the benefit of a life insurance policy to a specified person is presumed to be made under the condition of the beneficiary's existence at the time of the maturity of the insured capital or annuity, unless the contrary is evident from the terms of the stipulation or the circumstances.

Article 1004

Art. 1004 - The benefit of insurance may be assigned as a pledge for the benefit of a creditor of the insured, either by an amendment or by a written act notified to the insurer. When the policy is to order, the pledge constituted, even as security for a non-commercial debt, may be established by an endorsement indicating that the policy has been surrendered as security.

Article 1005

Art. 1005 - When life insurance has been contracted without designation of a beneficiary or for the benefit of the heirs or successors of the insured, in general, the insured capital forms part of the estate of the latter.

Article 1006

Art. 1006 - The sums stipulated to be payable, upon the death of the insured, to a designated beneficiary, do not form part of the insured's estate. The beneficiary, regardless of the form and date of their designation, is deemed to have had sole right to it from the day of the contract, even if their acceptance is subsequent to the death of the insured.

Article 1007

Art. 1007 - The sums paid at the death of the insured to a specified beneficiary are not subject, where applicable, to the rules of reduction for infringement of the reserve of the heirs of the insured. These rules do not apply either to the sums paid by the insured as premiums, unless these have been manifestly excessive having regard to his means, and especially to his income.

Article 1008

Art. 1008 - The insured capital for the benefit of a specified beneficiary may not be claimed by the insured's creditors. The latter are only entitled to reimbursement of premiums, in the cases indicated in the preceding article, second paragraph.

Article 1009

Art. 1009 - Any beneficiary may, after having accepted the stipulation made in their favor, transfer the benefit of the contract, either by way of assignment or, if the policy is to order, by endorsement. Any transfer, of whatever nature, is null and void if the person on whose life the insurance is based has not given their consent in writing.

Article 1010

Art. 1010 - Spouses may contract two reciprocal insurance policies on the life of each of them by a single act.

Article 1011

Art. 1011 - The insured, to the exclusion of their creditors, has the sole right to either maintain the contract or opt for reduction or redemption. When the insurance is maintained, it subsists with all its effects for the benefit of the designated beneficiary, mentioned in the policy or in an amendment. When there is no designated beneficiary, any person may maintain the contract for their own benefit, provided the insured consents, on condition that they reimburse the insured's creditors for the redemption value.

Article 1012

Amended. The guarantor has no right to request payment of installments. Non-payment of an installment only leads to termination of the guarantee contract or reduction of its effects after fulfilling the conditions specified in Article 975, in guarantee contracts contingent on death and annuities

Article 1013

1. Notwithstanding any contrary provision, the guarantor shall include in the contracts a detailed and explicit schedule stating the amounts stipulated in the contract, such as the cash reserve, reduced guarantee, and the amount that the insured is entitled to borrow based on their contract, for each year of the contract. The guarantor shall also undertake to guarantee these amounts, be bound by them, and pay what is due therefrom upon any request made to them or to the company's agent in Lebanon, without the need for any formalities.

Article 1014

Amended. Cancellation of the contract is optional except in the cases provided for in Articles 1001 and 1015, and in cases where the guarantor is compelled to cancel. Loans by the guarantor to the guaranteed are also optional.

Article 1015

Art. 1015 - The insurance contract is void if the beneficiary, voluntarily or through his act, caused the death of the insured, unless there was only simple negligence. The amount of the reserve must be paid by the insurer to the heirs or successors of the insured if the premiums have been paid for a period of three years or more. In case of mere attempt, the insured has the right to revoke the attribution of the benefit of the insurance, even if the author of this attempt had already accepted the benefit of the stipulation made for his benefit.

Article 1016

Art. 1016 - In the event of the designation of a beneficiary by will, payment of the insured sums made to the person who, without designation, would have been entitled to them, is liberatory for the insurer acting in good faith.

Article 1017

Art. 1017 - In case of loss of a life insurance policy, the following rules are applied: If the policy is not to order, the insurer is obliged to issue a duplicate to the insured on his affirmation that he has granted no right on the said insurance. - The duplicate takes the place of the lost title. If the policy is to order, whoever claims to have been dispossessed addresses by registered letter a statement summarizing the circumstances of the disappearance. This statement entails an objection to the payment of the capital and accessories. In the event that a third party holder of the contract appears who is subject to an objection, the insurance company notifies the objecting party by registered letter and provisionally seizes the title. The objector must, within the month following receipt of this notice, apply to the competent court which will rule on the ownership of the title; if he fails to introduce his action within the said period, the objection is lifted automatically, except in cases of fraud or a recognized legitimate impediment. In the event that two years have elapsed from the date of the objection without a third party holder having appeared, the objector may request from the President of the Court, by way of petition, authorization to obtain delivery of a duplicate of the contract. With respect to the company, the duplicate will be substituted for the original which will no longer be opposable to it, the dispossessed holder retaining against all others the remedies of common law.

Article 1018

Art. 1018 - The error regarding the age of the insured shall only render the insurance null and void when their true age falls outside the limits set for the conclusion of contracts by the insurer's tariffs. In all other cases, if, as a result of such an error, the premium paid is less than what should have been paid, the insured capital or annuity shall be reduced in proportion to the premium received and that which should have corresponded to the true age of the insured. Conversely, if, as a result of an error regarding the age of the insured, an excessive premium has been paid, the insurer shall be required to refund the excess premium received, without interest.

Article 1019

Art. 1019 - In the event of bankruptcy or judicial liquidation of the insurer, and except in the case where, in accordance with article 980, he presents a solvent guarantor, the claim of each of the beneficiaries of the contracts in force is fixed, on the date of the judgment declaring bankruptcy or judicial liquidation, at a sum equal to the reserve of each contract calculated, without any increase, on the technical bases of the tariff of premiums in force at the time of the conclusion of the contract.