Newsletter

Greetings from the Compact! June is a special month for us, even more so this year as it marks the 20th anniversary of the Insurance Compact’s inaugural meeting at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. On June 13, 2006, 27 Compacting States initiated steps to make this interstate regulatory paradigm operational by forming committees to develop bylaws, processes, and operating budgets, and to establish a Compact Office. Twenty years after that pivotal moment, 48 Compacting States continue to collaborate on uniform product standards, enhance its one-stop filing and approval process, and respond to the evolving needs of regulators, consumers, and industry. Through the shared commitment of its members, regulators, state legislators, consumer representatives, and company and industry representatives, the Insurance Compact has fulfilled its enumerated purposes, providing a strong foundation upon which to build the next 20 years and more.

Let’s get back to today as it is the deadline for submitting a request for a new or amended Uniform Standard for 2027. Submissions received by June 30 will be considered by the Product Standards Committee (PSC) as they prepare a recommendation list for the Management Committee and Commission for the 2027 Uniform Standards development prioritization. The PSC plans to submit its prioritization recommendation by the end of September, to coincide with the annual budget process.

Mark your calendar for two upcoming Joint Meetings of the Management Committee and Commission: the first virtual meeting happening on July 30 and the second scheduled for August 13 in Columbus, OH. Notices will be sent for both meetings in the coming weeks, but you can catch a sneak peek of what is on the agendas in this issue.

The Boston Compact Roundtable on July 15 is right around the corner! We expect to have a full house with several Commissioners and state legislators in attendance along with consumer representatives, company representatives and representatives from industry organizations. We will be discussing the use of AI in the product compliance process, improving consumer understanding in the face of growing product complexity, and visioning the Insurance Compact in the coming years.

The Compact Office will hold member / designated representative  prep calls for the upcoming July 30 Joint Meeting. Please attend the one that aligns best with your schedule. The meetings will be recorded and posted to NAIC Connect for your convenience if you need to reference them as you prepare for the Compact meeting. We value your participation and we look forward to seeing you at these upcoming meetings!

We are grateful for the opportunity to serve our members, and we are here to provide whatever support they need.

Ann Gillespie was appointed Director of the Illinois Department of Insurance (DOI) in April 2024 by Gov. JB Pritzker. She was confirmed by the Illinois Senate on May 30, 2025.

As a former Illinois state senator, Director Gillespie sponsored legislation for the new state-based marketplace (SBM), also known as the Illinois Health Benefits Exchange, which Gov. Pritzker signed into law in 2023. The SBM will operate within the Illinois DOI, enrolling Illinoisans in federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace health plans beginning Nov. 1, 2025. Additionally, she served as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee for Health and Human Services and chair of the Medicaid Working Group. She also was a member of the Senate Insurance Committee.

Prior to joining the Illinois General Assembly in 2019, Director Gillespie practiced health care law, served as chair of the Illinois HMO Guaranty Association, and consulted with state insurance departments managing health maintenance organizations (HMOs) in receivership.  

Director Gillespie is a Six Sigma Black Belt with expertise leading teams in health insurance operations process improvement. She has held several leadership roles in the health care industry, including at CVS/Caremark. She was vice president, member communications operations, heading member communication strategy and operations for commercial and Medicare lines of business. Prior to that, she was vice president, operations member experience, leading the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) enterprise team.  

Director Gillespie earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from DePaul University College of Law (Chicago, IL) and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

July 30

The Management Committee and Insurance Compact Commission will convene virtually on Thursday, July 30 at 3 p.m. ET to continue the rulemaking process initiated at the June 2 Management Committee meeting. The materials for this meeting will be posted to the Events Calendar, and the rulemaking items can be found on the Docket Developing Standards webpage.

A key agenda item will be consideration of adoption of amendments to the Standards for Accidental Death Benefits and Additional Standards for Accidental Death and Dismemberment Benefits. These standards completed the public comment process on June 1, 2026, and are ready to be considered for adoption by the Management Committee and Commission.

The meeting will also include a public hearing on proposed amendments to individual annuity and long-term care Uniform Standards, which were released for public comment following the June 2 meeting. Written comments are due August 3, 2026, and the hearing will provide stakeholders an opportunity to offer oral input on proposals addressing:

•    Amendment to add the participating/non-participating distinction to the actuarial certification in the individual deferred income (longevity) annuities standards;
•    Technical amendments to the participating contract section in the individual immediate annuities standards; and,
•    Amendment to limit the use of gender as a rating characteristic where prohibited by state statute and supporting by binding court opinion with respect to the individual long-term care insurance rate filing standards (issue age and modified schedules).

The Product Standards Committee met on June 16 in a regulator-only call to continue its review of the draft standards for Bonus Benefits in Individual Adjustable Life Insurance Policies. The draft largely aligns with existing annuity bonus standards but has been adapted to reflect the specific characteristics of life insurance products. The PSC will soon expose this draft for public comment.

The committee received a progress report on the drafting efforts for the group variable annuity standards. The Actuarial Working Group will meet later in the summer to continue its work on the amendments to the Index-Linked Variable Annuity Standards.

The next meeting of the Product Standards Committee is happening today, June 30. Call summaries of all its meetings can be found on the “Documents” section of the PSC Committee webpage.
 

We want to extend heartfelt congratulations to an esteemed Compact Officer, Commissioner Allen L. McVey, as he begins his retirement on June 30. Over the past several years, Commissioner McVey has made many notable contributions through his leadership and valuable insights. He began serving as the Treasurer for the Compact in 2022 and as Vice Chair in 2024. He played an instrumental role in the Compact’s website redesign in 2023, making it more user friendly and modernized, and in the development of the revised per-filing fee methodology in 2024, better aligning the value of review with its cost. We are incredibly thankful for his work with the Compact and wish him all the best in his retirement!