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Congress will act swiftly to begin discussions on alleged unscrupulous sales of life insurance products on military bases, with legislation addressing the issue already filed and a hearing scheduled for this week.
Additionally, some state regulators have taken notice of the recent increased media attention to military sales. Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine told the New York Times last week that his department has begun an investigation and has made contact with legal officers at every military installation in the state. Additionally, Oxendine said Georgia regulators will conduct an on-site examination at the home office of American Amicable Life Insurance Company, which has been mentioned in previous Times articles as one of the companies involved in military sales. Oxendine said he would also raise the issue of a possible multi-state action at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners fall meeting in Anchorage.
In Congress, a House Financial Services subcommittee has scheduled a hearing entitled "G.I. Finances: Protecting Those Who Protect Us." Rep. Mike Oxley, R-Ohio, had promised a hearing on the issue during a television appearance over the summer recess, and Rep. Max Burns, R-Ga., had asked for one when he announced his intention to introduce a bill on the issue, the Military Personnel Financial Services Protection Act.
