The Ohio Department of Insurance today withdrew its call for detailed information about life settlement deals completed by brokers doing business in the state.
The action was in response to complaints from a number of brokers that the demand for market information, known as a data call, was onerous and overreached the Ohio department's authority. Some settlement producers also argued that providing the requested information would have put them in the position of being sued by clients for revealing confidential data.
"After due consideration, the industry has raised some issues that we believe we should consider," the Ohio department writes in an electronic mail sent today to settlement brokers. "We will meet with industry representatives and discuss those issues and formulate a data call with the industry's input."
Brokers had complained that the data call, issued in January, demanded too much information, even for settlement deals completed outside of Ohio.
"It is in our best interest not to be put in position to be sued by clients whose private information could be given," says Rob Haynie, managing director of Life Insurance Settlements Inc., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
