SEC Rule 151A Killer: Congress Paves Way For FIAs To Remain State-Regulated

Congress on Thursday took an important step toward clarifying the status of Fixed Indexed Annuities as insurance products rather than securities.

House conferees on Thursday afternoon accepted the Senate offer made late Tuesday to classify FIAs as insurance products, provided the FIA products are sold by insurers domiciled in states that have adopted the model regulations recently developed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Forty states have already done so.

The move is being hailed as a major victory for the insurance industry while some consumer advocate groups are outraged. Here are links to a pair of articles on the subject posted today, first from our partners at National Underwriter Life & Health, and then from The Huffington Post.