IIPRC OFFERS FEE STRUCTURE
FOR REGIONAL INSURERS
Work Also Includes New Standards and
Proposed Amendments to Filing Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 5, 2009) — The Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission (IIPRC) has amended its filing fee rule, creating a new fee structure for regional insurers. Companies selling asset-based insurance products in five or less compacting states will now pay lower fees to utilize the IIPRC’s one-stop filing platform.

“We are pleased to offer an alternative for insurers doing business on a regional basis, making it more affordable to register and file with the IIPRC,” said West Virginia Insurance Commissioner and IIPRC Management Committee Chair Jane Cline. “We are confident insurers who register with the IIPRC will realize both competitive and cost advantages by preparing one single filing. Whether they are doing business in five states or soon-to-be 35 member states, the current approval turnaround time averages less than a month."

The annual registration fee for regional insurers – companies who file in five or less states – is now $2,500 and may be submitted through the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) System for Electronic Rate and Form Filing (SERFF). The regional insurer IIPRC filing fee is $250 per filing. Visit www.insurancecompact.org/industry_resources.htm for more information.

The IIPRC also recently adopted two additional Uniform Standards for individual annuity products – Standards for Market Value Adjustment Feature Provided through a Separate Account and Standards for Market Value Adjustment Feature Solely through General Accounts. By the end of the summer, the IIPRC expects to have 54 Uniform Standards available for insurers to file.

The IIPRC’s Management Committee has also published proposed amendments to its Product Filing Rule for a 60-day notice and comment period. These amendments propose to remove the two-year deadline or “product cutoff date” currently in effect for “mix and match” of Commission-approved products with state-approved products.

“Companies have expressed concerns with this fast-approaching deadline for individual life products, telling us it is very difficult from a systems, legal, and cost perspective to re-file their entire portfolio with the Commission in such a short period of time,” said Cline. “We will continue working over the next several months to adopt Uniform Standards for all product lines and find incentives and other ways to encourage companies to fully rely upon the IIPRC as their primary means of filing with compacting states.”

The proposed amendments to the Operating Procedure for the Filing and Approval of Product Filings can be reviewed in the IIPRC Docket HERE.

About the Commission

Currently, 35 jurisdictions have joined the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission (IIPRC). Compacting members are Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

The IIPRC enables state insurance regulators to develop uniform national standards for asset protection insurance products, such as life insurance, annuities, disability income and long-term care insurance. The IIPRC establishes a central filing point for these insurance products, enhancing the speed and efficiency of regulatory decisions and allowing companies to compete more effectively in the modern financial marketplace, while continuing to provide protection for consumers.

For more information, visit www.insurancecompact.org.