Proposed New York life settlement legislation attracted attention here at a fall conference organized by the Life Insurance Settlement Association.
Seth Lamont, general counsel for state Sen. James Seward, R-Oneonta, N.Y., briefed attendees on possible changes to Section 4228 of the New York insurance law.
Officials are accepting comments about how the law might be updated.
Discussions about possible changes will start sometime in the next 6 months, according to Doug Head, executive director of LISA, Orlando, Fla.
"Obviously, we recognize the need for consumer options," Lamont said. "That said, we want common sense regulation in which the rules of the game are defined and not fluid. We want to weed out potential abuses and do not want to [stop] legitimate transactions."
Seward is interested in the insured's safety, the effort to maximize the policyholder's policy sale proceeds, and an assurance that the insured is not unwittingly participating in a "manufactured" contract using premium financing, Lamont said.
Legislation could try to ensure that the client gets "top dollar" by improving alignment of the broker's compensation with the interests of the client, Lamont said.