Advocacy in action blog

NAIFA's Iowa chapter held a state Legislative Day in Des Moines last week. The event featured a morning advocacy training session and afternoon meetings with state legislators at the Capitol. NAIFA-IA also hosted an ice cream social with lawmakers. 

State advocacy is among part of NAIFA's critical mission to ensure policymakers in every state capital understand the important role of insurance and financial professionals in providing financial security and prosperity to families and small business in communities across the United States. 

NAIFA’s North Central Iowa chapter recently hosted a legislative breakfast session that included a question and answer session with State Sen. Tim Kraayenbrink (R-Fort Dodge, District 5), state Rep. Ann Meyer (R-Fort Dodge, District 9); and Jack Friend (D-Ames, candidate for Iowa House District 48).

NAIFA-Iowa recently held a successful combined in-person/virtual state conference, Sept. 9-11 in Cedar Falls. The program highlighted each point of NAIFA’s membership promise – Advocate, Educate, Differentiate – but the focus turned squarely to advocacy during the Thursday keynote presentation by state Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen and the Friday Newell C. Day Awards Breakfast keynote address by Sen. Chuck Grassley.

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.

Iowa and Arizona are the first states to introduce measures that would implement a model standard of care for annuity sales developed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). NAIFA chapters in both states successfully advocated for the NAIC model.