Heads Up CA Agents.

[Cornelius]

Check with your Annuity Carriers for information about the Calif. DOI requirement of carrier training.

http://www.insurance.ca.gov/0200-industry/0120-notices/upload/NoticeAB689andAnnuityTrain.pdf

 

[Norwayguy]

Check with your Annuity Carriers for information about the Calif. DOI requirement of carrier training.

http://www.insurance.ca.gov/0200-industry/0120-notices/upload/NoticeAB689andAnnuityTrain.pdf

This isn't really new...I had to do Carrier Specific "Training" for a bunch of carriers...ING was the best I was able to have 5 recorded webinars going at once once they finished I could check okay and I was done.

I don't have a problem with Specific training but lets be realistic why should I have to sit through 4 30 minute webinars when the only difference between the 4 products is a bonus and different surrender schedules. Do I really need to listen to 4 webinars that total 2 hours of my time just to have minutes of original info?

And thats just 1 carrier for 1 series of products.

 

[GreenSky]

Why do carrier specific AND have to deal with CE. If the damn DOI for each state would simply make the companies responsible things would be much better.

Hear that CMS?

Rick

 

[Norwayguy]

Why do carrier specific AND have to deal with CE. If the damn DOI for each state would simply make the companies responsible things would be much better.

Hear that CMS?

Rick

Yeah they think CE is really something to make people step up...All anyone has to do is take a webce course and be done in 5 minutes.

I don't know if the carriers are smart enough either...I remember a rollout by Great American that required a 30 minute recorded webinar and they spent the entire time on the friggen policy names I had to grab an agent guide to find out which products had what surrender periods it was a waste of my time.

 

[Dave020]

Any product that could possibly be sold to seniors, especially in California, will eventually require this kind of certification.

 

[padthaiforlunch]

It's all just another barrier to entry. The more barriers the better, imo.

 

[pcwest]

It never ends. You have to take carrier training and then 4 hrs of more CE.

 

[Norwayguy]

It's all just another barrier to entry. The more barriers the better, imo.

I don't have a problem with barriers....But if your going to make me waste my time on barriers at least make them worth viewing....Maybe its just me but I learn nothing from carrier specific training that I can't learn in 30 seconds going through the agent guide, why do I need to wast 30 minutes per product for that.

My most recent carrier specific training was with ING each product had like a 30 minute webinar that had to be listened to then you checked off that you listened to it...Its stupid it does nothing to increase my product awareness.

 

[padthaiforlunch]

I agree. Carrier training can really suck. American Equity, Equitrust and Midland National were a breeze.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

More of a "head's up in CA" regarding annuities is that CA has adopted NAIC's Annuity Suitability Model which means if your client complains at any time in future, it can be reviewed, deemed unsuitable and the carrier is forced to cancel the policy and refund.

What this does, it put the liability squarely on the carrier's laps. Before, the carriers would just throw up their hands and say "how were we to know?" Now, if a state has adopted this, carriers are responsible for double checking the agent or having a third party do so.


Section 6. Duties of Insurers and of Insurance Producers
A. In recommending to a consumer the purchase of an annuity or the exchange of an annuity that
results in another insurance transaction or series of insurance transactions, the insurance producer, or the insurer where no producer is involved, shall have reasonable grounds for believing that the
recommendation is suitable for the consumer on the basis of the facts disclosed by the consumer
as to his or her investments and other insurance products and as to his or her financial situation
and needs, including the consumer’s suitability information, and that there is a reasonable basis to
believe all of the following:

(1) The consumer has been reasonably informed of various features of the annuity, such as
the potential surrender period and surrender charge, potential tax penalty if the consumer
sells, exchanges, surrenders or annuitizes the annuity, mortality and expense fees,
investment advisory fees, potential charges for and features of riders, limitations on
interest returns, insurance and investment components and market risk;
(2) The consumer would benefit from certain features of the annuity, such as tax-deferred
growth, annuitization or death or living benefit;

(3) The particular annuity as a whole, the underlying subaccounts to which funds are
allocated at the time of purchase or exchange of the annuity, and riders and similar
product enhancements, if any, are suitable (and in the case of an exchange or
replacement, the transaction as a whole is suitable) for the particular consumer based on
his or her suitability information; and

(4) In the case of an exchange or replacement of an annuity, the exchange or replacement is
suitable including taking into consideration whether:

(a) The consumer will incur a surrender charge, be subject to the commencement of
a new surrender period, lose existing benefits (such as death, living or other
contractual benefits), or be subject to increased fees, investment advisory fees or
charges for riders and similar product enhancements;

(b) The consumer would benefit from product enhancements and improvements;
and

(c) The consumer has had another annuity exchange or replacement and, in
particular, an exchange or replacement within the preceding 36 months.
3

6F(1) An insurer shall establish a supervision system that is reasonably designed to achieve the insurer’s
and its insurance producers’ compliance with this regulation, including, but not limited
to, the following:

(a) The insurer shall maintain reasonable procedures to inform its insurance
producers of the requirements of this regulation and shall incorporate the
requirements of this regulation into relevant insurance producer training
manuals;

(b) The insurer shall establish standards for insurance producer product training and
shall maintain reasonable procedures to require its insurance producers to
comply with the requirements of section 7 of this regulation;

(c) The insurer shall provide product-specific training and training materials which
explain all material features of its annuity products to its insurance producers; 6

(d) The insurer shall maintain procedures for review of each recommendation prior
to issuance of an annuity that are designed to ensure that there is a reasonable
basis to determine that a recommendation is suitable. Such review procedures
may apply a screening system for the purpose of identifying selected
transactions for additional review and may be accomplished electronically or
through other means including, but not limited to, physical review. Such an
electronic or other system may be designed to require additional review only of
those transactions identified for additional review by the selection criteria;

(e) The insurer shall maintain reasonable procedures to detect recommendations
that are not suitable. This may include, but is not limited to, confirmation of
consumer suitability information, systematic customer surveys, interviews,
confirmation letters and programs of internal monitoring. Nothing in this
subparagraph prevents an insurer from complying with this subparagraph by
applying sampling procedures, or by confirming suitability information after
issuance or delivery of the annuity; and

(f) The insurer shall annually provide a report to senior management, including to
the senior manager responsible for audit functions, which details a review, with
appropriate testing, reasonably designed to determine the effectiveness of the
supervision system, the exceptions found, and corrective action taken or
recommended, if any.