A National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) committee has formed a stranger-initiated annuity transactions subcomittee.
The Life Insurance and Financial Planning Committee at NCOIL, Troy, N.Y., has picked Rhode Island state Rep. Brian Kennedy, D-Hopkinton, R.I., and West Virginia state Sen. Mike Hall, R-Putnam, W.Va., to co-chair new the new Subcommittee on Stranger-Initiated Annuity Transactions (STAT).
Insurers in Rhode Island have filed a suit accusing the defendants of buying annuities with death benefits using dying patients as the named applicants. The transactions appear to give investors a vehicle for earning stock market profits without facing the risk of loss of principal, officials say.
The new NCOIL subcommittee will study the STAT market, review existing laws and rules, and then report on steps NCOIL and other should take to protect consumers, officials say.