Equity-indexed annuities, as a form of fixed annuities, are currently regulated by state insurance departments. If the SEC adopts the proposed rule, it will begin regulating indexed annuity products as securities.
“This rule is not needed, and we thank our NCOIL colleagues for their acknowledgement and support,” said NAIC President and Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger. “We believe indexed annuities are insurance products — and that they should continue to be regulated as such.”
In a recent comment letter to the SEC, the NAIC’s officers outlined the extensive and ongoing regulatory initiatives taken by insurance regulators to oversee the sale of indexed annuities and other annuities.
“Insurance products — including indexed annuities — are subject to myriad state insurance laws,” Praeger said. “We have a strong record of consumer protection, and we do not believe this rule would be in the best interest of insurance consumers.”
About the NAIC
Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., 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 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.
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