Arkansas Adopts NAIC Annuity Model Best Interest Update

The Arkansas Insurance Department has adopted the annuity sales standards update developed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

The department is moving ahead with implementing the new version of the NAIC’s Suitability in Annuity Transactions model regulation.

Resources

• The Arkansas model update bulletin.
• More States Moving to Adopt NAIC Model Annuity Rule.

Alan McClain, the Arkansas insurance commissioner, issued a bulletin about the update adoption Dec. 28, 2020. McClain said insurers and annuity producers will have six months from the effective date to begin complying with the new rules.

The new version of the annuity sales includes “best interest” provisions based on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation Best Interest.

The SEC drafted the Reg BI regulation after the administration of President Donald Trump let financial services sales standard regulations developed by the U.S. Department of Labor die in court.

The NAIC’s model update requires an agent or broker who sells an annuity to “act in the interest of the consumer under the circumstances known at the time of recommendation is made and without placing the producer’s financial interest ahead of the consumers.”