Legislation in North Dakota addressing investor-owned life insurance and suitability of annuity transactions has advanced in the state legislature.
The viatical bill, SB 2268, came out of a House insurance committee on March 21 with a 'Do Pass Recommendation.' At press time, the bill was potentially scheduled to go to the full House floor on March 22, according to a source.
SB 2268 was unanimously passed in the North Dakota Senate and had a hearing in the House on March 6 that drew testimony from both life settlement representatives and life insurance representatives. Gov. Frank Keating, president and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers, Washington, was among those who testified before legislators.
This version of the bill closely resembles amendments to a model act crafted at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Kansas City, Mo. That amended model, the Viatical Settlement Model Act, include a 5-year ban on the sale of life insurance contracts with certain life event exceptions.
The model is being held back from full adoption for more work, though initially it had been expected to be adopted during the NAIC's spring meeting earlier in March. However, North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jim Poolman, a member of the Life & Annuities "A" Committee who led in the bill's development, asked that the model be delayed so additional wording addressing how it impacts banks could be added.
The National Conference of Insurance Legislators, Troy, N.Y., is considering its own solution to investor-owned life insurance, spearheaded by NCOIL member and North Dakota State Rep. George Keiser, R-41 District.
