New York Life Insurance Compliance Lawyer & Attorney : Currin Law Office : Annuity Compliance & Insurance Regulation

Kevin Beagan, Director of the State Rating Bureau of the MA Division, recently announced that Edward Charbonnier has been appointed to the position of Policy Form Review Director, with responsibility of coordinating the staff who review life insurance, annuity and accident and health filing materials.  In addition, Beagan indicated that Policy Forms meetings will resume after being discontinued in October 2007.   It appears that the intent is to hold the meetings on a quarterly basis as they were previously held. 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

As of July 3, 2008, Joel Ario is now the full and confirmed, by a 50-0 vote, the Insurance Commissioner of Pennsylvania. 

Those of us who do filings in PA, will need to make a change to the address block on submission letters, but since Ario has been Acting Commissioner for a year, not much else is likely to change significantly as a result of this confirmation. 

Ario is one of a small number of insurance commissioners who have served in two states, having been Oregon's Insurance Administrator for 6 years prior to leading the PA Department. 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Today a new law goes into effect regarding viatical and life settlements in Iowa, and the Iowa Insurance Division has issued a bulletin providing a high level discussion of some of the major changes to IA law, with guidance on how the law will be implemented. 

Among other provisions, the new law bans newly defined stranger-initiated life insurance, or coverage initiated for the benefit of a third-party investor who has no insurable interest in the insured.  The law has fraud provisions and gives authority for the Division to conduct on-site examinations of viatical settlement brokers and providers. 

Annual reports from viatical providers are required by the law, the first being due March 1, 2009. 

The Division indicates that while they are reviewing their existing rules, those rules remain in effect unless in direct conflict with the new law. 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

It is hot here in Austin for a NY girl! We are about half-way through and the Texas Department of Insurance Life, Health & Licensing Compliance Conference has been a good one so far, and well worth the trip.   This morning I attended a session on Advertising Requirements and there was a very good discussion of new regulations and what some of those changes will mean in practice.  I found the website discussion particularly helpful because it can be difficult to take regulations drafted for paper ads to the electronic medium.  In addition, it that advertising session, I got to go back to my roots in a new and sure-to-be-a-hit "game show":  "Think like a Regulator!"

The TDI has a lot of staff here and that is very nice to see --they have been very responsive and willing to answer any and all questions posed to them.  The sessions on various product and filing issues have also been very informative and I will head back to the office (and the cooler temperatures!) with some good tips to help TX filings go more smoothly.  The conference concludes tomorrow with a panel discussion and the opportunity to submit questions to the regulators who are here, so if any of you have a question that you would like to have asked, drop me an e-mail and I'd be happy to do my best to get an answer for you! 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Earlier this month, I indicated here that Massachusetts would be issuing a Bulletin eliminating the use of the lockbox and going to mandatory SERFF.  That Bulletin 2008-8, has now been issued and it provides very useful information about new filing procedures in Mass and provides an implementation date of 1/1/09 for mandatory SERFF.  

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Those of us who attended the recent AICP NE Chapter Education Day at UNH experienced a great day in a beautiful location.  The hotel and conference center were set in the woods as I have never seen before!  As always it was a fun and informative event and more about it will be posted here in the days to come!

And while there were many substantive issues discussed, one announcement that made a lot of people's day was that MA is joining the growing number of states where SERFF is mandatory.  However, it really wasn't the SERFF portion of the announcement that drew the most appreciation - it was the fact that at long last, MA is doing away - once and for all - with the lock box!!!  Along with the move to mandatory SERFF, MA is going to mandatory EFT and thereby eliminating the administrative nightmare and the delays caused by the antiquated lock box procedure.  A Bulletin was promised soon. 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Yesterday, March 27, 2008, the NJ Governor, Jon Corzine, signed legislation that bans discrimination based on future travel.  (Note that some reports of this legislation have described it as a ban on past or future travel, but this legislation deals solely with future travel.) 

Unfair discrimination is defined in the law to mean: "any decision to issue, extend, or renew a policy of life insurance or the fixing of rates, terms, or conditions of a life insurance policy, on the basis of the individual's intent to engage in future lawful foreign travel, which is not based on sound actuarial principles or actual or reasonably anticipated experience." 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

Iowa has recently issued Bulletin 2008-2 entitled Processing of Annuities Electronically and NAVA Straight Through Processing (STP) Standards.  The Iowa Insurance division states that,  as it has been explained to them, the NAVA STP standards and processes comply with Iowa's rules on electronic signature, record retention and delivery requirements as well as the required annuity disclosure rules.  There is the caveat though that in the case of a conflict between the NAVA STP standards and processes and Iowa law, the latter will govern. 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

On Monday, the Iowa Insurance Division issued a Press Release and Bulletin announcing the Annuity Disclosure Template Pilot Program for Fixed Annuities, Including Indexed Annuities, Sold in Iowa.  This pilot program, using ACLI disclosure templates, began on 1/28/08, but companies can begin whenever their system modifications are complete, according to the Bulletin.  Current disclosure forms can be used until those system modifications are complete and the new ACLI template disclosure forms are available. 

The Bulletin specifically states that it is not necessary to use the template forms for all products sold in Iowa. 

The Iowa Insurance Division must be notified of participation and they have set up a dedicated e-mail for this purpose.  The address is annuity.project@IID.state.ia.us. 

The Iowa Division and the ACLI have indicated that the templates will be evaluated during the one-year pilot project and modifications may be made to the templates, if necessary, during that time. 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

On January 10, 2008, the Connecticut Insurance Department issued Bulletin S-11 on "longevity annuities", or annuities without death benefits prior to annuitization. 

The Bulletin includes required sales practices , which include a requirement that a similar deferred annuity with a death benefit be offered and that 3 different illustrations be generated on a case-by-case basis.  Policy form requirements are also included. 

The Department indicates that a deferred annuity without a death benefit will only be approved when it complies with the Bulletin.  The Bulletin does not apply to group annuities purchased under a retirement plan or deferred comp plan established or maintained by an employer or an employee organization. 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks

The NJ Department received almost 200 comments on their proposed regulation on prohibiting discretionary clauses in life and health insurance products.   One of the issues raised was related to form filing and dealing with non-conforming forms that are out in the market.  In their Summary of Public Comments and Agency Responses, www.state.nj.us/dobi/proposed/ad070507_disc.pdf, the Department states:  "As proposed, the provision in question deemed withdrawn after January 1, [2008]  all newly issued or renewing policy and contract forms that contain noncompliant discretionary clauses.  Refiling noncompliant forms is not required."  Note that because of the timing of the effective date, the originally published  January 1, 2007 date was pushed back to January 1, 2008.  Because it is the Department's policy - as expressed in this regulation - that carriers will not have the sole discretion to interpret the terms of a policy or contract, and that covered persons retain access to their appeal rights under state and federal law, they seem to conclude that re-filing of noncompliant forms is unnecessary.  However, because as stated in the quoted language above, non-compliant forms are deemed withdrawn as of January 1, 2008, it remains somewhat  unclear what the status will be of previously approved products that contain discretionary clauses as of January 1, 2008. 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks