Advocacy in action blog

Susan Neely, president and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers, provided an inspiring and laudatory message to attendees of NAIFA’s Advocacy in Action Day. She spoke of how the life insurance and financial services industry and agents and advisors are “meeting the moment” during the COVID-19 crisis.

Reps. Tom Reed (R – NY) and Tom Souzzi (D – NY) share a strong appreciation for the insurance and financial services industry and the importance of the products and services that agents and advisors provide. The y spoke about their work and the Problem Solvers Caucus during NAIFA’s Advocacy in Action Day.

Moderator: Diane Boyle

Tracy Jones – Moderator

On May 15, the SBA released a standardized PPP loan forgiveness application with instructions.  The SBA still intends to publish additional rules and guidance on the program’s forgiveness provisions, but highlights from the release – and answers to a few outstanding questions – include:

On May 11 Iowa insurance regulators adopted revisions to the state’s regulations on annuity recommendations and sales to require producers and insurers to act in the best interests of annuity purchasers. Under the revised rules, producers must not put their own financial interests ahead of consumers’ interests. These revisions track amendments made earlier this year by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to the NAIC Suitability in Annuity Transactions Model Regulation, which aligns well with the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest and will raise the standard of care required of financial professionals while preserving consumers’ access to valuable financial advice, services, and products.

NAIFA’s Online CEO Panel
Tuesday, May 12 at 1 PM EDT
Free to all financial professionals

NAIFA is bringing together CEOs from the insurance and financial services industry’s top associations to discuss our collaborative efforts during the COVlD-19 crisis to address financial security on Main Street USA. NAIFA CEO Kevin Mayeux will moderate a panel consisting of:

All eyes were on the Washington, D.C., Council on Tuesday morning. Included in its “Coronavirus Omnibus Emergency Amendment Act of 2020” was a proposal to essentially rewrite business income insurance policies and require the industry to pay for losses that were not covered. The Council ultimately agreed to withdraw the language before passing the omnibus bill. The business interruption insurance measure could have threatened the financial solvency of the District's insurance industry, so having it removed was a major win for insurers.

NAIFA along with five other organizations has sent a letter to Congress asking legislators to support the Insured Retirement Institute’s (IRI) five-point plan to help retirement savers recover from losses caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. NAIFA has worked with IRI to promote the plan and garner support in Congress.

Recent estimates suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has cost more than 9 million Americans employer-provided health insurance, with projections indicating that those numbers will continue to rise. These individuals are generally granted the option to elect continued health coverage through the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA).