§431:10-228 Assignment of policies. (a) A policy may be assignable or not assignable, as provided by its terms.

(b) Subject to the terms of the policy, any policy providing the beneficiary may be changed upon the sole request of the insured, may be assigned by either pledge or transfer of title, executed by the insured alone, and delivered to the insurer, regardless of whether the insurer is the pledgee or assignee. Any such assignment shall entitle the insurer to deal with the assignee as the owner or pledgee of the policy in accordance with the terms of the assignment until the insurer has received at its home office written notice of termination of the assignment or pledge, or written notice by or on behalf of some other person claiming some interest in the policy in conflict with the assignment. [L 1987, c 347, pt of §2]

Case Notes

Because Hawaii law requires every insurance policy to be subject to the general rules of contract construction, and an assignment by operation of law is merely an extension of the common law tort rule of successor liability, trial court erred in concluding that an assignment by operation of law was consistent with Hawaii's rules governing construction of insurance policies. 117 H. 357, 183 P.3d 734 (2007).

Where insurance policies contained a no assignment clause that required the consent of the insurer to bind it to any assignment made by the named insured, and named insured assignor did not obtain any of the insurers' consent prior to the assignment, assignee was not an insured under any of the insurers' policies and was therefore not owed duties to defend or indemnify by insurers. 117 H. 357, 183 P.3d 734 (2007).