Currin IMSA Qualified Independent Assessor

At the ACLI Compliance and Legal Sections Annual Meeting next month in Boston, I will be formally announcing my entry into the IMSA Qualified Independent Assessor ranks,as well as an exciting partnership with someone many of you will know.  This new association will combine my compliance experience with his many years with IMSA and reputation as a leading assessor.  It is a logical expansion of activities for me, and I hope to work with some of my long-standing clients in this new way!

Look for our joint exhibition booth in the registration area at the ACLI conference July 22-24 at the Weston Boston Waterfront Hotel.

 

Tags:

Superintendent Dinallo Resigns

 While many may have already heard the news, the New York State Insurance Department posted Governor Paterson's [press release] announcing the resignation of Superintendent Dinallo late today.  According to the release, Mr. Dinallo will be moving to an academic position in the business school at NYU.    No doubt there will be much discussion in the coming days, weeks and months about who else from the Department may be following him and who will be his successor.  His resignation is effective July 3, 2009.  

Tags:

Certification by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council

Currin Compliance Services, LLC has received certification as a Women's Business Enterprise by Women Presidents' Educational Organization - New York Certification Committee, a regional certifying partner of the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).  

WBENC's national standard of certification implemented by the Women Presidents' Educational Organization - New York Certification Committee is a meticulous process including an in-depth review of the business and site inspection.  The certification process is designed to confirm the business is at least 51% owned, operated and controlled by a woman or women.  

By including women-owned businesses among their vendors, corporations and government agencies demonstrate their commitment to fostering diversity and the continued development of their vendor diversity programs.  

To learn more about Currin Compliance Services, LLC, see our website at www.currincompliance.com.  

About WBENC:  The Women's Business Enterprise National Council is the nation's largest third party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women in the United States.  WBENC is a resource for the more than 700 US companies and government agencies that rely on WBENC's certification as an integral part of their supplier and vendor diversity programs.  

 

Tags:

AICP NE Education Day

 On Friday the New England Chapter of the AICP held our annual Education Day and it was a great event.  Of course, attendance was down, but those of us who were able to make the trip got a tremendous amount of information and had much more time to personally interact with those regulators who were there.   Despite budget cuts at companies and insurance departments there is a lot going on and many new developments across our region (and in NJ, an honorary member of NE for the conference).   Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make it happen in these tough times!  

Request for input on Rule 151A

 I have been asked to present  a session on Rule 151A topics - the litigation and other issues related to the Rule -  at the October AICP national conference in Phoenix .   I would be very interested in hearing from any readers who may have information that you think I may not have seen or an experience you think I should know about.   I have no doubt that this discussion can easily fill the 1 hour and 15 minutes allocated to it, but I would love to hear from you and gather as many perspectives and as much information as I can in preparation.  Thanks - I hope to see you in Phoenix! 

Tags:

2008 Legislative Summary Posted by NYSID

 The New York State Insurance Department has posted a [legislative summary] on their website.  The link for the life-specific summary can be accessed [here.]  While most of these have been effective for some time now, it can be helpful to have these brief reminders of the effective dates.   We recommend taking a look to make sure that any necessary revisions have been made to policy forms and business operations.  

 

 

Tags:

Great Day at the Insurance Advertising Compliance Assoc. Mtg

The IAdCA meeting has been quite good this year.  I have connected with a few people that I haven't seen in years and had some great conversations about regulatory issues that face our industry.  It is always interesting to share a conference with marketing personnel because so often we can find ourselves at odds, but looked at differently we often share a common goal.  It is just easy to lose site of that given our respective pressures on a day-to-day basis.  

Yesterday I enjoyed the presentations of Jim Young from the Virginia Bureau of Insurance and Amy Sochard of FINRA.  These days I often find myself looking for clues about what a federally regulated world will look like and it is of course notable that so much advertising must be filed with FINRA compared to state insurance regulators.  When the FINRA discussion got into specifics it was primarily over the use of hypotheticals and how difficult they are to make helpful for the full range of products.  We also discussed the new variable products regulation and while the comment period at FINRA ended in September 2008, the final reg is not expected before the end of this year at the earliest.  FINRA received 18 comments and is working their way through the comments.  

While Ms. Sochard appeared to be quite sincere in her appreciation for the comments, it certainly did not seem to be an example of how federal regulation would increase the speed with which regulatory change happens to meet new product development.  I did come away with a sense that she would take back the additional comments and questions of the group and that there was some possibility that the issues raised could impact the final regulation, when it ultimately comes out.  

Another interesting area of discussion in that session was Reg 151A.  Ms. Sochard deferred to the pending litigation, but indicated that it would be a challenge to bring indexed annuities into the VA rules, but that is what she thought would be likely for FINRA regulated transactions.  There was a discussion of trying to make the hypothetical rules apply and the challenges they pose.  Both in the context of Rule 151A and variable products, I think there were helpful tips for the use of hypotheticals in FINRA-regulated materials.  

Overall, I found both regulators' discussions of what they are focusing on in their advertising reviews today quite interesting and helpful.  As advertising comes under increasing focus it has been a very good opportunity to have interactions with those who review it for their respective agencies.  I look forward to hearing George Nichols from New York Life and Kelly Ireland from the ACLI bring their perspectives this morning.  And then I hope for an easy trip home this afternoon!  

Warning: Be Careful What You Say

 The New York State Insurance Department today issued a [press release] announcing that it sent a letter to Tom Wilson, CEO of Allstate after he authored an [Op-Ed piece] for the New York Times on Wednesday, published yesterday.  As many know by now, in that piece Mr. Wilson pushed for federal regulation and indicated that his company "played only a small role in unregulated insurance markets."  

Well, not surprisingly, now the New York State Insurance Department wants to know more about that role so that these state regulators can determine the scope of their actions, and has  sent them a [letter] demanding information under Section 308 of the NY Insurance Law.  Mr. Wilson must have  thought through the possible consequences of submitting that Op-Ed piece to the major newspaper in one of the NY Department's home cities, but it is sure hard to see that from the piece.  It not only makes the usual claims of a "hodgepodge" of state regulations, but it seems to place responsibility for much of the economic meltdown at the feet of state regulators.  It insults the very people who now regulate them.  To their face, in a major newspaper and in their hometown.  

As I have said here I understand there are problems with state regulation that cannot and should not be ignored.  However, I do not know how it can be said with sincerity that federal regulators would somehow, by definition, be more "sophisticated" than state regulators have been.  Recent examples are numerous of exactly how unsophisticated federal regulators have been in many industries and surely in every type of financial institution they have regulated.  Sophistication clearly does not come merely because one works for the federal government rather than the state government.  

The New York Insurance Department is acting in a way that could have been predicted and I think that this company may see in the review of the information provided in response to today's letter that some sophisticated minds can be brought to the task they now have at hand.  

 

Reg 151A SEC Brief and Preliminary Thoughts

 I have been giving the SEC's brief in response to the Petition for review of the SEC's order on Reg 151A a preliminary look.  It is my reading material for this weekend!  One thing that immediately jumped out at me is that it is 90 pages long and that 6 attorneys for the SEC are listed on the cover of the brief.  That is a legal arsenal that most state insurance departments would rarely have at their disposal on a single issue.  Legal challenges to state regulations are pretty rare.  There are six pages in the Table of Authorities in this SEC brief.  Court challenges to federal regulations seem much more common.  Another interesting initial observation about this litigation is how it has publicly split the industry.  I am beginning to think that as an insurance regulatory attorney I am also going to need to brush up on my federal rules of civil procedure.  It has been rare for case law to be an important component of a regulatory practice, but as we seem to move toward federal regulation, that seems likely to change.  

I hope that most of you reading this have more fun reading planned for the weekend, so I will be posting more substantive thoughts on the brief after I read it in full.  (But for my friends who care about the balance in my life, do not worry:  I will be spending both days this weekend out on the course of the Tour of the Battenkill bike race, marshaling and spectating.  I do not have to worry about ALL work and no play.   Mornings and Evenings will be work and the middle of the day outside play - not bad for a lovely Spring weekend!!)  

Indexed Annuities discussed on CNBC

 Here is the You Tube link to a recent discussion of indexed annuities on CNBC's "On the Money."   It seems like a pretty balanced discussion to me.  While there are clear and pointed references to the long and costly surrender charges, it is also clear that for this individual the product seems to have been a good choice.  

Tags: