Washington
The fact that “insurance” involves risk taking does not mean that an annuity is automatically subject to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regulation, annuity industry lawyers argue in a new brief.
In addition, the SEC has made mistakes in connection with efforts to develop and implement Rule 151A, which would classify many equity indexed annuities as securities, according to the lawyers, who are representing the EIA issuers and EIA marketers that are challenging efforts by the SEC to implement Rule 151A.
Rule 151A was published in January and is supposed to take effect in January 2012.
The lawyers submitted the brief to a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
The industry brief in the case, American Equity Investment Life Insurance Company, et al, vs. the Securities and Exchange Commission, No. 09-1021, was filed in reply to a brief submitted earlier in the month by the U:S: Securities and Exchange Commission:
A 3-judge panel is scheduled to begin hearing oral arguments May 8.
When the SEC published Rule 151A, the National Association of Insurance Commisioners, Kansas City, Mo., joined with underwriters and marketers in the effort to file a petition concerning the SEC’s oversight authority.