Life, Health and Disability Insurance Law Blog : Life, Health and Disability Insurance Law Blog : California Disability Lawyer & Attorney : Barger & Wolen Law Firm : CA Life Insurance & ERISA Law, Life Health Disability

Effective July 29, 2010, less than a month after California’s first Stranger Originated Life Insurance (“STOLI”) legislation, Senate Bill 98, took effect, the California Department of Insurance (“DOI”) issued emergency regulations designed to implement the legislation. 

As previously reported, Senate Bill 98 proscribes STOLI transactions (defined as “act[s], practice[s], or arrangement[s] to initiate the issuance of a life insurance policy in this state for the benefit of a third-party investor who, at the time of policy origination, has no insurable interest, under the laws of this state, in the life of the insured”) and restricts the transfer of life insurance policies during the first two years after their issuance.

The DOI’s proposed regulations delineate procedures for the licensing of life settlement providers and brokers, specify forms for provider and broker applications and set forth procedures for the filing of life settlement forms with the Insurance Commissioner prior to use. 

The proposed regulations also mandate certain disclosures to consumers, including the availability of alternatives to life settlement, the possible tax consequences of a life settlement and the potential limitations on the insured’s ability to obtain additional life insurance following a life settlement.

Other states continue to join California in enacting STOLI legislation; Wisconsin and New Hampshire passed similar STOLI legislation in May and June 2010, respectively.

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One month from today, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) will hold a meeting to address Stranger Originated/Owned Annuities (“STOA”). Similar to Stranger Originated/Owned Life Insurance (“STOLI”), STOA transactions often involve seniors and terminally ill individuals who were induced to purchase annuities largely for the benefit of an investor. The NAIC is “determined to address how individuals are being affected by these new transactions and whether new or modified current laws or regulations are necessary to protect consumers,” stated Thomas R. Sullivan, NAIC’s Life Insurance and Annuities Committee Chairman and Connecticut’s Insurance Commissioner. The May 20th public hearing in Washington, D.C. is expected to include testimony from consumers, state regulators and industry representatives.

State legislatures across the country have focused in recent years on the enactment of STOLI regulations. For example, California enacted its first legislation in October 2009, classifying the underlying transactions as fraudulent. Experts report that STOA could be the subject of similar legislation in the near future. However, the NAIC’s investigation and possible regulation of STOA would be limited to transactions involving insurance, because transactions involving variable annuities are outside the state insurance commissioners’ regulatory authority; they are instead regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
 

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More than a year after vetoing Senate Bill 1543 and vowing to work to pass similar legislation “quickly,” California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 98 into law on October 11, 2009. As the rejected Senate Bill 1543 sought to do, the new law defines Stranger-Originated Life Insurance (“STOLI”) transactions as “an act, practice, or arrangement to initiate the issuance of a life insurance policy in this state for the benefit of a third-party investor who, at the time of policy origination, has no insurable interest, under the laws of this state, in the life of the insured.” The new law proscribes STOLI transactions as fraudulent, and allows the Department of Insurance to collect information from life settlement providers that will help it to monitor the market and to identify STOLI transactions. It also restricts most transactions within the first two years of a policy.

Finally, the new law adds a component the absence of which reportedly led to the rejection of Senate Bill 1543: It mandates specific disclosures to consumers, including alternatives to life settlements, and requires the licensing of professionals who transact life settlement contracts.

The law – California’s first STOLI legislation – makes California one of 26 states to enact laws regulating STOLI. Similar legislation is pending in 13 other states.

See also STOLI news post

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