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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NAIC ADOPTS VIATICAL SETTLEMENTS MODEL ACT REVISIONS SAN FRANCISCO (June 4, 2007) — The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) today adopted amendments to the Viatical Settlements Model Act during the Association's Summer National Meeting in San Francisco. The Model, which has been widely discussed among state regulators, addresses several issues in the life settlement marketplace, including an emerging type of life insurance practice known as Stranger-Originated Life Insurance (STOLI). The Model strengthens several consumer protections and imposes a five-year ban settling a life insurance policy with specified elements indicative of a STOLI transaction. A life settlement is the transfer of life insurance benefits available under a policy. STOLI transactions are traditionally defined as life insurance policies manufactured for the purpose of settling in the secondary market. "We are extremely pleased with the passage of proposed amendments to the Viatical Settlement Model,” said Julie McPeak, Life Insurance and Annuities (A) Committee Chair and Kentucky Office of Insurance Executive Director. “The intensity of the discussions during our review process validated the Committee's belief that this should be an area of major concern to those of us charged with protecting the public. This is a victory for consumers, particularly those who are ill, elderly or otherwise vulnerable.” The NAIC began looking at this type of life insurance practice in May 2006. The life settlement industry has changed significantly since the last revisions to the Viatical Settlements Model, which many states have adopted. “The drafting process was lengthy and done with great deliberation. We received and seriously considered input from the many interested parties,” McPeak said. “In the end, the measures to strengthen the Model, which has already been adopted in 35 states, passed because its importance was recognized by the NAIC membership.”
About the NAIC Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is a voluntary organization of the chief insurance regulatory officials of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the five U.S. territories. The NAIC’s overriding objective is to assist state insurance regulators in protecting consumers and helping maintain the financial stability of the insurance industry by offering financial, actuarial, legal, computer, research, market conduct and economic expertise. Formed in 1871, the NAIC is the oldest association of state officials. For more than 135 years, state-based insurance supervision has served the needs of consumers, industry and the business of insurance at-large by ensuring hands-on, frontline protection for consumers, while providing insurers the uniform platforms and coordinated systems they need to compete effectively in an ever-changing marketplace. For more information, visit NAIC on the Web at: http://www.naic.org/press_home.htm
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©2007 National Association of Insurance Commissioners. All rights reserved. | ||
