105.265.  Life insurance benefits, effect of active military duty — adjutant general to be official sponsor of program, duties. — 1.  All officers and employees of this state, or of any department or agency thereof, all members of state retirement systems, and all other public employees of this state who are entitled to life insurance benefits as a state employee or a member of a state retirement system, and who are or become members of the United States Armed Forces or the National Guard and who are called to military service under competent orders from the appropriate military authority in time of active armed warfare shall be entitled to such life insurance benefits for the entire duration of such military deployment, including time periods in excess of twelve months, subject to the terms and conditions of any life insurance policy that may be in place to provide such coverage.  Such persons shall be required to pay the cost of such coverage.

  2.  (1)  The adjutant general shall be the official sponsor of the state-sponsored life insurance program.  The adjutant general shall:

  (a)  Allow, facilitate, and coordinate all efforts to make the state-sponsored life insurance program available to all members of the Missouri National Guard;

  (b)  Provide an opportunity for members of the Missouri National Guard to purchase products of the state-sponsored life insurance program;

  (c)  Allow, facilitate, and coordinate requested allotments with the appropriate United States Property and Fiscal Office for purposes of the state-sponsored life insurance program;

  (d)  Allow representatives of the state-sponsored life insurance program to provide members of the Missouri National Guard with briefings during annual training and inactive duty training periods to educate members on the state-sponsored life insurance program and its benefits; and

  (e)  Allow members of the Missouri National Guard to designate or change beneficiaries under the state-sponsored life insurance program.

  (2)  The Missouri National Guard Association shall select the insurer used to provide the state-sponsored life insurance program.

  (3)  As used in this subsection, the term "state-sponsored life insurance program" means the life insurance program exclusively offered to all members of the Missouri National Guard through the Missouri National Guard Association pursuant to the federal Veterans' Insurance Act of 1974, Pub. L. 93-289.