New York State Growls at Out-of-State Pension Risk Transfer Marketers

“Each meeting, telephone call, piece of mail, email, or other communication originating from a New York office or from outside New York into New York would be a separate violation,” Bishop says.

An unauthorized insurer can conduct some limited back office activities in New York state, such as gathering information about the insurance industry and mailing completed applications on non-New York risks to placing agents located out of state.

An out-of-state, unauthorized insurer with back office operations in New York “may not have its name on any sign or have a New York mailing address,” Bishop says.

If a pension plan sponsor will be buying a group annuity for a pension risk transfer involving New York state residents, the group contract and certificates should be delivered or issued for delivery in New York state by a New York state-authorized insurer and administered by that insurer, Bishop says.

“Although an unauthorized insurer affiliated with the authorized insurer can be used to issue and administer a group contract and certificates issued or delivered outside of New York to non-New York residents, the unauthorized insurer may not solicit, negotiate, sell, or service the out-of-state group contract or certificates from an office or any other location in New York,” Bishop says.

Resources

A link to the New York state group annuity circular letter is available here.

— Read New York State Implements Best-Interest Standard for Annuity Sales, on ThinkAdvisor.

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