Newsletter

Greetings from the Insurance Compact!

October has been a productive and eventful month, and there is still much on the horizon as we approach the end of the year. 

Earlier this month, the Compact Officers hosted the Compact Roundtable in Omaha, Nebraska. I am sincerely grateful to everyone who participated, particularly Directors Dunning, Dwyer, and Deiter, Commissioners Grant and Brown, and regulators from Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Washington. They were joined with representatives from 27 companies  as well as members from the Compact’s Legislative Committee, Consumer Advisory Committee and Industry Advisory Committee. The insights shared and the collaboration that took place strengthened our collective understanding of today's challenges and opportunities to enhance the efficiency of asset-based insurance product regulation. These conversations continue to be valuable because of the thoughtful engagement and commitment each participant brings to the table. Together, we are identifying ways to address important issues and better serve our members, their regulated companies and the policyholders being served.

Across the Compact, committee work continues to move forward. The Actuarial Working Group is currently reviewing suggested amendments to Index-Linked Variable Annuity standards, while the Product Standards Committee (PSC) is developing its recommendations to the Management Committee regarding 2027 Uniform Standard priorities. You can find additional details about the PSC's work later in this newsletter.

Looking ahead, the Compact Officers have scheduled two in-person meetings in Grapevine, Texas, as we prepare for year-end activities.

On November 16 at 12:30 p.m. CT, the Compact will host its annual Joint Meeting of the Management Committee and Legislative Committee. The Management Committee will report on  committee activities, Uniform Standards development, the annual budget, and receive feedback from the Legislative Committee. A draft agenda is available for reference on the Compact website under Events.

The Management Committee and Commission will convene at 1:00 pm CT to conduct their joint annual meeting. Tentative agenda items include a public hearing on the budget and Uniform Standards prioritization, appointments to committees for the coming year and annual Officer elections. A draft agenda for this meeting is also on the Compact's Events page.

To help regulators prepare for these upcoming meetings, the Compact Office will host a series of regulator-only preparation calls. These brief sessions are designed to provide an overview of key topics that will be considered during the annual meeting and equip states to make informed decisions. Calls are scheduled for 

• November 4 at 12:00 p.m. ET
• November 5 at 1:00 p.m. ET and 3:00 p.m. ET
• November 6 at 2:00 p.m. ET 
• November 10 at 3:00 p.m. ET

Participants do not need to attend more than one session, so I encourage you to register for the session that best fits your schedule. You can sign up for any of these calls on the Events page.

Your participation in Compact meetings and activities  play an essential role in the Compact's success. Thank you for your continued engagement and commitment to our collective work. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out if there is any way the Compact Office can support you.

Sincerely,

Karen Z. Schutter

Executive Director
 

Alice T. Kane was appointed as Superintendent of Insurance of New Mexico effective June 12, 2023. 

Ms. Kane served previously as the Vice President and Senior Adviser to the General Counsel at Guardian Life Insurance Company from March 2020 to October 2022. Ms. Kane focused on insurance regulatory matters, representing clients before the New York State Department of Financial Services and other state insurance departments. Prior to that role, she served as Counsel at Clifford Chance US LLP, where she advised property and casualty, life, and health insurance clients on a wide range of regulatory and transactional matters. Ms. Kane previously served as the group general counsel at two Fortune 100 insurers, Zurich Insurance Group, and New York Life Insurance Company, where she led teams of inhouse and outside counsel on complex M&A transactions, settled major government and insurance department investigations, and spearheaded the successful resolution of SEC enforcement actions, among other regulatory and governance matters. She served as executive vice president in charge of asset management for New York Life and as president of the mutual fund business for American General’s Variable Life and Annuity Division. She also founded a woman- and minority-owned institutional asset management business, Blaylock Asset Management. 

Over the past several years, she monitored both international and national insurance regulatory reforms at both the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). She also represented clients on US health care reform before the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CMS), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Stakeholders representing state insurance departments, the insurance industry, state government, and consumer interests gathered at the October Compact Roundtable in Omaha to discuss the future of the Insurance Compact. Through a series of facilitated discussions, participants exchanged perspectives on the Uniform Standards Prioritization Survey, opportunities to enhance and maintain Uniform Standards, and the Compact's long-term role in supporting efficient, uniform product regulation.

Strengthening the Uniform Standards Prioritization Process

A significant portion of the discussion focused on the Uniform Standards Prioritization Survey and the role stakeholder feedback plays in shaping future Compact initiatives. Participants shared perspectives on the survey results and discussed opportunities to strengthen future engagement efforts, broaden participation, and enhance transparency throughout the prioritization process.

Attendees also emphasized the importance of helping stakeholders understand how survey feedback is evaluated and incorporated into future planning. The discussion reflected a shared interest in ensuring the prioritization process remains collaborative, responsive, and effective in identifying opportunities that provide value to regulators, industry, and consumers.

Maintaining and Modernizing Uniform Standards

Participants explored opportunities to strengthen the ongoing maintenance of Uniform Standards and ensure they remain responsive to evolving products, regulations, and market needs. Discussions highlighted the importance of balancing efficiency with thorough stakeholder review, as well as identifying practical ways to keep standards current while preserving consistency across Compact member states.

The Product Standards Committee (PSC) met on multiple occasions this month to proceed with preparing a list of suggested priorities for the Management Committee that will be presented later this fall. 

On October 6, Latif Almanzan of Texas was introduced as the new vice chair of the PSC. During this call, the PSC discussed 2027 requests for new and amended standards. The Compact Office also provided an overview of the findings from the industry prioritization survey. There were only eleven responses, composing a 4% response rate.

The other agenda item at this meeting was a presentation by the Compact Office on the drafting of the group variable annuity standards. Then, the PSC members were asked to review the draft standard and submit comments for the next call. The PSC will hold a public call to hear from companies about group variable annuities. Mary Block reported the Actuarial Working Group has a call scheduled to begin discussing amendments to the ILVA standards. 

On October 13, the PSC held another regulator-only meeting. During this call the committee received a report from the Compact on the results from the 2027 Uniform Standards Request prioritization survey sent to the regulators. According to the report, 37 of the 48 compacting states submitted responses to the questionnaire.  The current findings showed some regulatory and industry consensus on which initiatives to prioritize for the upcoming year. Following the presentation, the PSC collaborated to assign tentative priority levels to the suggested 2027 new and amended uniform standards.  On October 29^th, the committee will host a public call to receive input on proposed priorities before finalizing a recommendation to the Management Committee in November. 

After the public call, the PSC will meet again in a regulatory-only setting on November 10 at 1:30 ET.

During the last week of October, the Compact Office hosted their annual in-person team meeting. Staff from across the U.S. gathered in Kansas City for a couple days of discussion, planning, and team building. Department breakouts were held on the first day for each sector of the organization -- regulatory affairs, product operations and administrative operations --  to address current workloads and future priorities. Several discussions focused on ways the Compact could enhance their operations in a way that adds greater value to member states, company filers and consumer representatives  and strengthens the execution of our mission.