Advocacy in action blog

NAIFA and the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) often work together to advocate for the industry, producers, and consumers in every part of the country. Their enduring cooperation and partnership take on great significance at the state level, where NAIFA is the only advocacy association of agents and advisors with a strong grassroots influence in all 50 state capitals.

American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) President and CEO Susan Neely and National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA)-Georgia President Joe Schreck issued the following joint statement on the best interest annuity rule adopted recently by Georgia’s Insurance Department:

“A new rule adopted by Georgia’s Insurance Department and Commissioner John King strengthens protections for Peach State consumers seeking lifetime income from annuities.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has approved a newly revised Suitability in Annuity Transactions Model Regulation that would require financial professionals to act in the best interests of consumers when recommending annuity products.

Dean L. Cameron, Director of the Idaho Department of Insurance, is the 2022 President of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Cameron is a third-generation insurance professional with more than 32 years of experience. Prior to entering state politics, he was a NAIFA member who served two terms as the President of NAIFA’s Idaho chapter.

The monthly newsletter of the National Council of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) features a front-page article contributed by NAIFA State Chapters Director Julie Harrison on the best interest standard incorporated into the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Suitability in Annuity Transaction Model Regulation. 

The NAIC Life and Annuities (A) Committee recently adopted the frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding the best interest model adopted by the Committee in February of 2020.  As most NAIFA members by now already know, the updated model clarifies that all recommendations by agents and insurers must be in the best interest of the consumer and that agents and carriers may not place their financial interest ahead of the consumers’ interest in making a recommendation. In addition, the model now requires agents and carriers to act with “reasonable diligence, care and skill” in making recommendations.

NAIFA Trustee Win Havir, CPCU, CLF, LUTCF, FSS, AIC, LACP, a founding member of NAIFA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Council, testified on behalf of NAIFA before the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Committee on Race and Insurance.

Understandably, 2020 was a slow year for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and National Council of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) – with the obvious exception of COVID-19 matters. Many Working Groups, Task Forces, and Committees delayed projects and meeting altogether. Although there still are discussions on COVID-19 topics, the recent spring meetings of both groups generally focused on getting regular work streams back up and running.

Christopher L. Gandy, a member of the 2021 National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) Board of Trustees and the president of NAIFA’s Chicagoland chapter, spoke on behalf of NAIFA at a National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) meeting of the NAIC’s Special Committee on Race and Insurance.

NAIFA continues to urge the states to consider and adopt recent amendments to the NAIC’s Suitability in Annuity Transactions Model Regulation, and NAIFA state chapters should reach out to their state’s insurance commissioner or director and encourage him/her to support and promote the adoption of the NAIC amendments. The adoption of these amendments by the states remains a top advocacy priority for NAIFA.