NAIC Group Takes Another Swing At An Annuity Standard

By John Hilton

KANSAS CITY -- The National Association of Insurance Commissioners' working group continues work Friday to have a annuity transactions model law ready to present to the full association by its summer meeting.

It is an ambitious schedule, working group chair Dean Cameron told members Thursday. Then there's the Securities and Exchange Commission's Regulation Best Interest, which NAIC members are watching intently.

"We are on sort of parallel tracks with the SEC," Cameron said. "We can see each other out of our peripheral vision and it’s important that we keep going. … Ideally, we will have something to collaborate with them."

The SEC is much further ahead, however, and will soon complete a public comment period on its regulation. Meanwhile, the NAIC Summer Meeting is set for Aug. 4-7 in Boston.

In order to get an annuity transactions model law consensus by then, the working group will have to accomplish big things when it meets this morning. The group made progress Thursday during an all-day session that saw members tentatively agree to adopt language proposed by Iowa.

Those discussions and straw votes will continue today until noon.

"I could see where we take a section or two from ACLI, a section or two from New York, and a section or two from Iowa and all of a sudden we have a draft proposal," Cameron said.

Compensation Disclosure

Earlier Thursday, the group debated disclosures for 90 minutes. In particular, what disclosures to require on the subject of agent compensation.

Michelle Rafeld of Ohio pushed for a disclosure of the actual dollar amount an agent makes off of an annuity sale, as opposed to a percentage.

"A lot of consumers do not understand how insurance agents are compensated," she said. "I was an insurance agent and I knew what I was going to make off of every commission. It kind of helps to level the playing field for the consumer to have that data."

Industry speakers downplayed the impact of disclosing the commission amount. Some suggested that information might not always be available.

But Birny Birnbaum of the Center for Economic Justice echoed Rafeld's comments.

"A general compensation disclosure such as you discuss is in our opinion worthless," said Birnbaum, executive director of the CEJ. "It will be gamed from day one."

The group reached no consensus on the comp disclosure.

InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at john.hilton@innfeedback.com.

InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at john.hilton@innfeedback.com. Follow him on Twitter @INNJohnH.