Delaware 153rd General Assembly (2025-2026) Status: Passed House Bipartisan · 5 D · 1 R cosponsors

HB 299 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 18 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO LIFE INSURANCE POLICY EXCLUSIONS AND RESTRICTIONS BASED ON DEATH RESULTING FROM SUICIDE.

Last action — Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has passed the House. Introduced March 05, 2026. It now moves to the second chamber.

Next likely step: consideration and a floor vote in the Senate.

Odds of enactment

High chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 74% · high confidence

  • Passed House

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 7 sponsors

    7 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (5 D · 1 R) — cross-party backing.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 2 recorded votes so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

In plain language

The bill shortens the suicide exclusion period for life insurance policies from two years to one year.

This bill amends Delaware law to limit life insurance policy exclusions for suicide to one year instead of two. If a claim for suicide is denied during this period, insurers must refund all premiums paid for that coverage.

What this means for you
  • Families: Families receiving life insurance payouts may benefit from the shorter exclusion period in case of suicide.

Summary

Current Delaware law provides that a life insurance policy may contain a provision excluding or restricting coverage in the event of death by suicide within 2 years from the date of issue of the policy. This Act reduces the time period to 1 year from the date of issue of the policy. It applies to a policy that is issued after the effective date of the Act. This Act also requires that in the event any death benefit is denied because the insured dies as a result of suicide within 1 year from the date of issue of the policy, the insurer must refund all premiums paid for coverage providing the denied death benefit on the insured. This Act is effective 6 months after its enactment into law.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT

  2. Reported Out of Committee (Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology) in Senate with 3 Favorable, 4 On Its Merits

  3. Assigned to Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology Committee in Senate

  4. Passed By House. Votes: 36 YES 5 ABSENT

  5. Reported Out of Committee (Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce) in House with 2 Favorable, 8 On Its Merits

  6. Introduced and Assigned to Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce Committee in House

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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7 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 55 not signed on

Sponsors (7)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (55)

55 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 55 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

SM

Passed 20 Yea · 0 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 15000
Republican 5001
Total 20001
% of votes cast 95%0%0%5%
How each member voted (21)
Member Party Vote
Bryan Townsend Democratic Yea
Daniel Cruce Democratic Yea
Darius J. Brown Democratic Yea
David P. Sokola Democratic Yea
John "Jack" Walsh Democratic Yea
Kyra L. Hoffner Democratic Yea
Laura V. Sturgeon Democratic Yea
Marie Pinkney Democratic Yea
Nicole Poore Democratic Yea
Ray Seigfried Democratic Yea
Russell Huxtable Democratic Yea
S. Elizabeth Lockman Democratic Yea
Spiros Mantzavinos Democratic Yea
Stephanie L. Hansen Democratic Yea
Trey Paradee Democratic Yea
Brian Pettyjohn Republican Yea
Bryant L. Richardson Republican Not Voting
Dave G. Lawson Republican Yea
David L. Wilson Republican Yea
Eric Buckson Republican Yea
Gerald W. Hocker Republican Yea

Official roll call →

SM

Passed 36 Yea · 0 Nay · 5 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 25002
Republican 11003
Total 36005
% of votes cast 88%0%0%12%
How each member voted (41)
Member Party Vote
Alonna Berry Democratic Yea
Claire Snyder-Hall Democratic Yea
Cyndie Romer Democratic Yea
DeShanna U Neal Democratic Yea
Debra Heffernan Democratic Yea
Edward S. Osienski Democratic Yea
Eric Morrison Democratic Yea
Frank Burns Democratic Yea
Franklin D. Cooke Democratic Yea
Josue O Ortega Democratic Not Voting
Kamela T Smith Democratic Yea
Kendra Johnson Democratic Yea
Kerri Evelyn Harris Democratic Yea
Kimberly Williams Democratic Yea
Krista Griffith Democratic Yea
Larry Lambert Democratic Yea
Madinah Wilson-Anton Democratic Yea
Mara Gorman Democratic Yea
Melanie Ross Levin Democratic Yea
Melissa Minor-Brown Democratic Yea
Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha Democratic Yea
Sean M. Lynn Democratic Not Voting
Sherae'a Moore Democratic Yea
Sophie Phillips Democratic Yea
Stephanie T. Bolden Democratic Yea
William Bush Democratic Yea
William J. Carson Democratic Yea
Bryan W. Shupe Republican Yea
Charles S Postles Jr. Republican Yea
Daniel B. Short Republican Yea
Jeff Hilovsky Republican Yea
Jeffrey N. Spiegelman Republican Yea
Jesse R. Vanderwende Republican Not Voting
Kevin S Hensley Republican Yea
Lyndon D. Yearick Republican Not Voting
Michael F. Smith Republican Yea
Richard G. Collins Republican Yea
Ronald E. Gray Republican Yea
Shannon Morris Republican Not Voting
Timothy D. Dukes Republican Yea
Valerie Jones Giltner Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

health-insurance
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB 299 do?
Current Delaware law provides that a life insurance policy may contain a provision excluding or restricting coverage in the event of death by suicide within 2 years from the date of issue of the policy. This Act reduces the time period to 1 year from the date of issue of the policy. It applies to a policy that is issued after the effective date of the Act. This Act also requires that in the event any death benefit is denied because the insured dies as a result of suicide within 1 year from the date of issue of the policy, the insurer must refund all premiums paid for coverage providing the denied death benefit on the insured. This Act is effective 6 months after its enactment into law.
Who sponsors HB 299?
HB 299 is sponsored by Stell Parker Selby, Ray Seigfried (Democratic), Laura V. Sturgeon (Democratic), Bryant L. Richardson (Republican), Marie Pinkney (Democratic), Spiros Mantzavinos (Democratic), and Eric Morrison (Democratic).
What is the current status of HB 299?
This bill has passed the House. Introduced March 05, 2026. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track HB 299?
Track HB 299 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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