Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson is back in the saddle again, and this time she’s going after Midland National Life Insurance Company. The lawsuit recently filed in Hennepin County District Court marks the third time in 2007 that Swanson has placed a major life insurer in her sights as a result of alleged deceptive sales of annuities to senior citizens.

Swanson has made a name for herself testifying before Congress on abusive sales practices. She also had great success i

New York State regulators have drawn their bead on the head of one Hank Greenberg, the former Chief Executive of American International Group, Inc. Greenberg (and a group of Greenberg-controlled entities) is accused of attempting to "possess control" of AIG without first requesting the Insurance Department's permission. According to an Insurance Department spokesman, the Greenberg group's collective 12 percent ownership of AIG makes that group a "controlling person" under

My LexisNexis Insurance Compliance colleagues conducted a peer poll at the Association of Insurance Compliance Professionals’ annual meeting in Portland, Oregon last month. Their mission was to ferret out the issues that are having the most significant impact on various segments of the compliance community. The results of this poll are somewhat surprising.

The first thing I noticed was a strikingly low level of participation by representatives from the specialty lines and worke

In the wake of a press conference where Florida Gov. Charlie Crist called the insurance industry “greedy” and “tenacious,” and claimed that the state has “significant reason to believe that some insurance companies are violating Florida law,” Florida insurance regulators issued subpoenas against Allstate Corp. and 10 of its subsidiaries--Allstate Floridian Indemnity Co., Allstate Floridian Insurance Co., Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Co., Allstate In

Washington voters on Nov. 6 approved Referendum 67--a measure that allows successful plaintiffs in insurance bad faith cases to receive treble damages.

Battle lines have been drawn between insurance companies and the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association ever since Gov. Chris Gregoire signed the Insurance Fair Conduct Act into law on May 15. By September, insurers had amassed a war chest totaling $5.8 million, but that amount climbed to $9.6 million before yesterday's election.

I heard Kentucky Insurance Commissioner Julie McPeak’s Forum 500 address at the American Council of Life Insurers’ annual meeting in Washington, D.C. this week. Commissioner McPeak also chairs the Life Insurance & Annuities Committee of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, having inherited that responsibility from former North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jim Poolman. According to Commissioner McPeak, the NAIC will be concentrating its regulatory focus in 2008

NEW YORK -  The New York Liquidation Bureau is not a state agency and therefore not subject to audit by the state comptroller, New York’s highest court unanimously ruled on Oct. 11.

 “We recognize that the statutory framework of the Insurance Law grants the Superintendent legal title to the assets of the insolvent insurer; however, equitable title remains with the distressed insurer for distribution to the creditors and policyholders,” Judge Eugene F. Pigot

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners is promoting a new process called market analysis that is completely changing the way regulators monitor market conduct.

Although all state insurance regulators oversee the market conduct of insurers doing business in their state, there is very little uniformity in how this process is conducted. Many states perform intensive reviews while others conduct very limited examinations. This inconsistent regulatory approach has created an

Insurance Commissioner Nonnie S. Burnes’ efforts to revamp the private passenger automobile insurance market in Massachusetts extends far beyond matters relating to auto appraisals and the safety and cost issues associated with after-market parts, and involves a gradual transition from state set rates to “managed competition.” 

In July, Commissioner Burnes issued two decisions; one involved the gradual transition from fixed rates to managed competition, and the

Battle lines have been drawn in Washington between insurers and the plaintiffs’ bar as both sides square off over the Insurance Fair Conduct Act, which Governor Chris Gregoire signed into law on May 15. The legislation seeks to make a number of changes to state insurance law and includes a provision that permits triple damages to be imposed against insurers found to have unreasonably denied valid claims. However, a coalition called the Consumers Against Higher Insurance Rates submitted

When it comes to complying with the suitability standards that states are now imposing on annuity transactions, uniqueness definately counts. And the unique combination of factors and circumstances that insurers and producers must consider in determining whether an annuity transaction "makes sense" for a particular consumer have never counted more as three of the top seven annuity writers in the industry await certification rulings that are expected later this year and in early 2008

Insurers and producers are eating a lot of pot luck supper and chuck wagon stew these days as they attempt to restructure their business and sales practices to comply with the suitability mandates enacted in many states. Complicating matters is the combined force of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Association of Securities Dealers, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the National Conference of Insurance Legislators, the Insurance Marketplace Standards Ass

I spoke with former North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jim Poolman this afternoon about his decision to step down from his position effective September 1st to start his own consulting company.

Poolman has been at the forefront of the national movement toward regulatory modernization since 2000 when he became the youngest elected insurance commissioner in North Dakota history.  He helped to spearhead the ongoing efforts between the NAIC and the NASD to develop regulatory standar

In their recent article discussing suitability standards for annuity transactions, Pompano Beach attorneys Norse Blazzard and Judith Hasenauer mention a compliance officer they know who reviews annuity sales with the suitability standard of “would I want my mother to purchase this annuity?”  According to a recent American Council of Life Insurers tally 15 states have adopted the suitability standards set forth in the National Association of Insurance Commissioner’s Seni