2000s - NAIC - Insurance Regulators - Snippets

  • (p81) - Thomas Foley said the working group had been charged to make amendments to the Life Insurance Disclosure Model Regulation - (Attachment Three-A) to be consistent with the Life Insurance Illustrations Model Regulation adopted in 1995.
  • (p83) - Thomas Foley said that for a variable product, if the 12% illustration is used, it can show a very low premium for coverage.
    • If the policy does not attain the 12% return it will not be a permanent policy.
    • He opined that consumers are misled if the 12% is not a reasonable amount over time and consumers are in the same position as they were in the 1980s when "vanishing premiums" were touted.

2000-1, NAIC Proceedings - 2000 0314

  • (p51) - Gregory SERIO. NAIC /  Superintendent, New York Department of Insurance -  Price is a factor. Price should not be the leading factor on it. It should be a factor. I will go to this issue.
    • Just a few years ago, we had this thing called vanishing premiums, where people were given a promise that their premiums were going to go away, and they were going to have this insurance coverage forever or for as long as they were told they were going to have it.
      • That did not pan out, because those interest assumptions were wrong, because those other investment income assumptions were wrong over the duration of that policy.
    • And we had to go back and rethink how it is that the companies are not only structuring these products but how they are selling them.
    • And I think what has been happening is that this notion that the public is going to save money a little bit here, a little bit there is a hard thing to do when you are talking about a product that you need to have guaranteed at the end of the day

2004 0922 - GOV (Senate) - Examination and Oversight of the Condition and Regulation of the Insurance Industry, Richard Shelby (R-AL)  ---  [BonkNote]

  • (p28) - John Oxendine, NAIC / Georgia Insurance Commissioner
    • The problem, of course, is that some agents are not trustworthy.
      • Sometimes they sell unsuitable products.
    • Most soldiers already purchased the affordable SGLI and may not need supplemental life products.
    • These supplemental policies are often sold to soldiers as investments rather than as insurance.
    • While it is true that an insurance policy can be one component of an individual’s investment strategy, the investment portion of the policy is, in some cases, being overemphasized and/or misrepresented.
    • Some soldiers have testified that they did not even realize that they had purchased life insurance. Some also testified they thought they were opening a savings account. 

2005 1117 - GOV (Senate) - A Review of the GAO Report on the Sale of Financial Products to Military Personnel, Richard Shelby (R-AL)

  • Terri Vaughan, NAIC-CEO-IA
    • I will tell you, the insurance regulators have had failures also.
    • We have been the recipient of several GAO studies, thank you very much, that pointed to problems in our system, and that we then went and fixed.  (p28), (Part 1 of 2)

2009 0305 - GOV (House) - Perspectives on Systemic Risk, Paul Kanjorski (D-PA)  ---  [BonkNote]

  • Carolyn MALONEY (D-NY)  How are the insurance businesses of AIG segregated from the AIG Financial Products?
  • Joel ARIO (NAIC /PA - Insurance Commissioner).  Within insurance regulation, there is the strong principle that the assets that are there for the benefit of policyholders are walled off from all other creditors of the company, including the holding company upstream.
    • So we believe that the assets of the insurance companies are there for the policyholders and they are protected against all other creditors, including the holding company upstream.
  • Mrs. MALONEY. So in other words, the risk of default in the life insurance business of AIG is separate from the cross-linked risk of being associated with and dragged down by AIG Financial Products, is that correct?
  • Mr. ARIO. It is a slightly different question.
    • If there are problems at the holding company level, particularly in terms of the rating of the companies, that can create rating issues for the downstream insurance companies, and that is a particularly important issue in the property and casualty side.
    • If we are going below the A minus level that we are at now into the Bs, it would have very negative impacts on the insurance company.
      • So there is that linkage.
  • Mrs. MALONEY. But the linkage is only with the rating companies.
    • In other words, they are walled off, they are separate.
    • So what would happen if AIG Financial Products was allowed to fail?
      • Would that have an impact on the insurance properties and the insurance assets of AIG?
  • Mr. ARIO. Not directly on the assets.
    • That is more a question for how the rating agencies would look at that issue for the insurance companies.
  • Mrs. MALONEY. The rating agencies do not have a lot of credibility at this point, so I would rather ask the insurance commissioner. It is my question.
    • So if Financial Products was walled off and allowed to fail, the insurance portion would be safe and sound, and going forward, is that correct?
  • Mr. ARIO. Yes, the assets would be there and would be protected.  (p48)
  • Mrs. MALONEY. Thank you. 

2009 0318 - GOV (House) - American International Group’s Impact On The Global Economy: Before, During, And After Federal Intervention, Federal Aid to AIG Insurance, Regulators Panel (CSPAN), Paul Kanjorski (D-PA)  ---  [BonkNote]

  • “As public officials, it is the responsibility of the NAIC and state regulators to correct any misinformation that is being circulated,”  said Therese M. (Terri) Vaughan, NAIC chief executive officer.
    • “Consumer protection is our first and foremost concern. The 71 state-regulated insurance entities within AIG are financially sound and are fully able to pay claims.

2009 0803 - InsuranceJournal.com - States Dispute Article Questioning AIG Insurance Units’ Finances - [link]