GENERAL PROVISIONS Assignment You may assign Your Life Insurance rights and benefits under the Group Policy as a gift or as a viatical assignment. You may also assign Your Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance rights and benefits under the Group Policy as a gift. We will recognize the assignee(s) under such assignment as owner(s) of Your right, title and interest in the Group Policy if: 1. a Written form satisfactory to Us, affirming this assignment, has been completed; 2. the Written form has been Signed by You and the assignee(s); 3. the Policyholder acknowledges that Your Life Insurance and Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance being assigned is in force on the life of the assignor; and 4. the Written form is delivered to Us for recording. All other insurance under the Group Policy may not be assigned prior to a claim for benefits, except as required by law. We are not responsible for the validity of an assignment. Beneficiary You may designate a Beneficiary in Your application or enrollment form. You may change Your Beneficiary at any time. To do so, You must send a Signed and dated, Written request to Us using a form satisfactory to Us. Your Written request to change the Beneficiary must be sent to Us within 30 days of the date You Sign such request. You do not need the Beneficiary’s consent to make a change. When We receive the change, it will take effect as of the date You Signed it. The change will not apply to any payment made in good faith by Us before the change request was recorded. If two or more Beneficiaries are designated and their shares are not specified, they will share the insurance equally. If there is no Beneficiary designated or no surviving designated Beneficiary at Your death, We may determine the Beneficiary to be one or more of the following who survive You:  Your Spouse or State-Registered Domestic Partner;  Your biological child(ren), legally adopted child(ren), and stepchildren, including children of Your State- Registered Domestic Partner;  Your natural or adopted parent(s); or  Your sibling(s). Instead of making payment to any of the above, We may pay Your estate. Any payment made in good faith will discharge our liability to the extent of such payment. If a Beneficiary or a payee is a minor or incompetent to receive payment, We will pay that person's guardian. If an insured employee who is a member of an eligible class dies and a surviving Spouse elects to continue Dependent Insurance in effect on the date of the insured employee’s death, such surviving Spouse will be deemed the Certificateholder thereafter for purposes of determining payment of benefits and designating a Beneficiary. Only Dependents covered on the date of the insured employee’s death are eligible for continued coverage. For Your Life Insurance for Your Dependents, We will pay You as the Beneficiary if alive. If you are not alive, We may determine the Beneficiary to be one or more of the following who survive You:  Your Spouse or State-Registered Domestic Partner;  Your biological child(ren), legally adopted child(ren), and stepchildren, including children of Your State- Registered Domestic Partner; GCERT2024-WSHCA-WA-LIFE-EMPLOYEE1 84