On June 22, 2011, New York Insurance Commissioner James Wrynn signed a statement re-adopting Regulation No. 187 governing suitability in annuity transactions (the “Regulation”) on an emergency basis.
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Regulatory
NFIP Reform Passes House, Heads to Senate
On July 12, 2011, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2011, H.R. 1309 (the “Act”), by a vote of 406 to 22. As we previously reported, the Act has been endorsed by President Obama. The goal of the Act is to the reform to the National Flood Insurance Plan (“NFIP”) in order to help reduce the more than $18 billion debt carried by the NFIP. …
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Obama Administration Releases Statement Supporting NFIP
Earlier this month, the Obama Administration released an official statement through the Office of Management and Budget stating that it supports the reauthorization and reform of the National Flood Insurance Program (“NFIP”). …
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New York Insurance Exchange Soon to Complete Draft Business Plan
This updates our April 21 and March 8, 2010 postings. …
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Client Advisory – New York Insurance Department Requires Life Insurers to Use Social Security Death Master File to Identify Deceased Policy Holders
As previously reported, the New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman began issuing subpoenas in late June to various life insurers concerning their use of the Social Security Death Master File (“DMF”) and compliance with New York’s abandoned property laws. The New York Attorney General has issued at least nine subpoenas as part of an investigation into how the life insurance industry uses the DMF. …
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Roy Woodall Nominated as Voting Member of FSOC
On June 27, 2011, the Obama Administration nominated Roy Woodall as a voting member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (“FSOC”). If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he would become the first voting member of FSOC with a background in insurance, meeting the Dodd-Frank requirement that a voting member with insurance experience be named to the panel. …
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New York Exempts Large Commercial Insurance Products From Rate and Form Approval Requirements
Last week, the New York State Assembly gave the final approval to a bill, S.B. 5811 and A.B. 8464, that would exempt large commercial insurance policies from certain rate and form approval requirements. …
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New York State Insurance Department Announces Cooperation Agreement with Switzerland
On Wednesday, June 22, 2011, New York State Insurance Department (“NYSID”) Superintendent James Wrynn announced that the NYSID entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) with the Financial Market Supervisory Authority (“FINMA”), Switzerland’s financial regulator. …
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UK: Bank of England and FSA Publish Joint Paper Detailing Supervisory Approach to be Taken by PRA
On 20 June 2011, the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority published a joint paper (click here for a copy) outlining their current thinking on how the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), once established, will approach the supervision of (re)insurers. Acknowledging that the nature of (re)insurers’ business models exposes them to a different set of risks than banks, the paper sets out how the PRA will adapt its supervisory methods accordingly. …
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NCOIL Proposes Amendments to the Beneficiaries’ Bill of Rights Model Act relating to Payment of Life Insurance Benefits
This updates our June 14 blog post.
The National Conference of Insurance Legislators (“NCOIL”) has proposed amendments to the Beneficiaries’ Bill of Rights Model Act relating to payment of life insurance proceeds to beneficiaries. …
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