X-Message-Number: 1546
From: 
Subject: CRYONICS Alcor Buyback and Reward
Date: Tue,  5 Jan 93 02:05:32 PST

Dear Timothy,

I received your messages of January 1st and 3rd.  It wasn't clear
to me whether you sent them via e-mail or posted them to the net.
I  am  posting  my  response  to the net  because  I  think  this
information may be illuminating for others as well.

>From Jan. 1st:

>Alcor requires that Alcor is the irrevocable beneficiary of any life
>insurance that is used to pay for a suspension contract.

Actually, this is only one of three options with life insurance
beneficiary designations.  One may also collaterally assign the
policy to Alcor, or transfer ownership to Alcor.  It's important
to point out also that life insurance is no longer the only sort
of suspension funding Alcor accepts.  One may also utilize an
irrevocable trust, or an In Trust For account.

>I suspect the purpose of this is to protect against the following
>scenario: as the potential suspendee gets older, he is eventually
>declared mentally incompetent, and the guardian appointed by the
>courts decides to cancel the suspension contract.  If Alcor is the
>irrevocable beneficiary, then they can refuse any change of
>beneficiary request, and in practice they will only accept changes
>that come from the person who signed the contract while he is still
>mentally competent.  The net result is to prevent the agreement from
>falling apart when challenged by one of the possible consequences of
>ageing, specifically mental incompetence.

>Am I right here?  If not, what is the purpose?

Actually, though the above example is a good reason to have an
irrevocable beneficiary designation (or collateral assignment or
Alcor ownership of the policy) it is not the main purpose.
Principally, such a designation is simply a mechanism for
insuring that Alcor is made aware of any changes to the policy,
so that the member may not let the policy lapse nor change the
beneficiary of the policy without Alcor being notified first.
This helps us avoid a situation where the member deanimates
without proper funding in place but we suspend him anyway because
we didn't know his arrangements were invalid.  This, obviously,
would be a very awkward situation and any of the methods
mentioned above will protect against this.

>At one time one could get a written promise that a change of
>beneficiary would be permitted under certain circumstances.   Is there
>any  reason not to get this?  What are the circumstances?   Will this
>practice continue after the change in presidents at Alcor?

Alcor will provide a Buy-Back Agreement to any member who desires
a written guarantee that Alcor will reliquish its rights to the
member's life insurance policy should the member decide to alter
his funding arrangements or to rescind his membership at some
point in the future.  All that's required to obtain this
Agreement from Alcor is a phone call or message to me requesting
it.

>Will  this  practice continue after the change in presidents  at Alcor?

Yes.   Steve  Bridge was actually one of the persons  who  helped
institute  this  system.   Besides, the reasons  for  using  this
method  still  exist, and as long as they do, this is  how  we'll
handle it.

>From Jan. 3rd:

> (Steve Jackson) says:
>>There is a reward for notifying Alcor in timely fashion and following
>>the instructions above.

>Once  someone asked me what the reward was, and I had to  say  I didn't
>know.  Does anyone here know?

The reward for notifying Alcor is $400.

For anyone who cares to know, inquiries such as the above, and
any that are related to Alcor membership terms, requirements,
benefits, etc., should most properly be addressed to me, since
dealing with these things is in my job description.

Long Life!

Derek Ryan
Membership Administrator

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