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News & Blog
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The Indiana Department of Insurance has updated its requirements for recommendation and sale of annuities based on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ model law. Effective March 9, 2024, producers, when making a recommendation of an annuity, must act in the consumer’s best interest under the circumstances known when the recommendation is made, without placing the company’s or producer’s financial interest ahead of the consumer’s. To meet this requirement a producer must exercise reasonable diligence, care and skill to know the consumer’s financial objectives, understand the available recommendation options, have a reasonable basis to believe the recommended options effectively addresses the consumer’s financial situation and communicate the basis of the recommendations. The producer must make reasonable efforts to obtain consumer profile information before an annuity is recommended and consider the types of products that the producer is licensed to sell that address the consumer’s financial situation, insurance needs and financial objectives. Additionally, the producer must consider the consumer profile information, company characteristics, product costs, rates, benefits and features in determining whether an annuity effectively addresses the consumer’s financial situation, insurance needs and financial objectives. The importance level of each of these care obligation factors can vary depending on a case’s facts and circumstances. Each factor must not be considered in isolation. The producer must have a reasonable basis to believe that their client would benefit from certain features of the annuity, such as annuitization, death or living benefit or other insurance-related features. In the case of an exchange or replacement of an annuity, the agent must consider the whole transaction, which includes considering whether the consumer will incur possible adverse effects such as surrender charges, new surrender period, the loss of benefits or be subject to increase fees. The producer must also consider if the replacing product would substantially benefit the consumer compared to the replaced product and if the consumer has had another annuity exchange or replacement within the preceding 60 months. A producer is not required to obtain a license other than a producer license with the proper line of authority to sell insurance in Indiana to meet the obligations set out in this update. This includes, but is not limited to, any securities license, however the producer must not offer advice or provide services otherwise subject to securities laws, or engage in other activities necessitating additional professional licenses. Before recommending or selling an annuity, the producer must prominently disclose certain information to the consumer on a form substantially similar to this. This information includes description of the relationship’s scope and terms with the consumer and the producer’s role in the transaction, an affirmative statement on what products the producer is licensed and authorized to sell and to which carriers the producer is contracted. The producer must also describe the sources and types of compensation that the producer can receive and disclose a reasonable estimate of the amount of compensation to be received by the producer. On request of the consumer or the designated representative, the producer must disclose a reasonable estimate of the cash compensation that the producer will receive, which can be set out as either a range of amounts or percentages; and whether the compensation is a one-time compensation or multiple occurrence amount. Either before or at the time the producer recommends or sells an annuity, the producer must have a reasonable basis to believe that the consumer has been informed of the annuity’s features, which includes potential surrender period and surrender charge; potential tax penalty if the consumer sells, exchanges, surrenders or annuitizes the annuity; any annual fees; limitations on interest returns, potential charges for riders or other options of the annuity and similar costs. The producer must identify and avoid, or reasonably manage and disclose, any material conflicts of interest such as conflicts related to an ownership interest. At the time of recommendation or sale, the producer must make a written record on the basis for the recommendation based partially on information supplied by the consumer. If the consumer does not elect to provide personal information, the producer must obtain a consumer-signed statement similar to this. Should the consumer decide to purchase an annuity not based on the producer’s recommendation, the producer must obtain a consumer-signed statement on a form substantially similar to this. The requirements associated with a best-interest obligation to a consumer extends to any producer who “exercised material control or influence in making a recommendation” and who have or will receive direct compensation resulting from the recommendation or sale even if the producer has had no direct contact with the consumer. Providing or delivering marketing or educational materials, product wholesaling or other back-office product support and general producer supervision are not considered to be “material control or influence.” A producer has no best-interest obligations to a consumer related to an annuity transaction if no recommendation is made, a recommendation was made prepared on information from the consumer that was materially inaccurate, the consumer declines to provide relevant profile information and the annuity transaction is not recommended or the consumer decides to enter into an annuity transaction that is not based on a producer recommendation. Neither the insurance carrier nor an agent can dissuade, or attempt to dissuade, a consumer from truthfully responding to the company’s request for confirmation of the consumer profile information, filing a complaint or cooperating with the investigation of a complaint. Producer Training An insurance producer may not solicit the sale of an annuity product unless the producer has adequate knowledge of the product to recommend and the producer is in compliance with the company's standards for product training. A producer who engages in the sale of annuity products must complete a one-time, four-hour training course approved by the Department of Insurance. Producers who hold a life insurance line of authority on July 1, 2024, and who desire to sell annuities must complete this training mandate by September 9, 2025. Individuals who obtain a life insurance line of authority on or after March 9, 2024, may not engage in the sale of annuities until the annuity training course has been completed. The annuity training course or courses must cover the following topics:
Training providers must cover all topics listed in the prescribed outline and may not present any marketing information or provide training on sales techniques or provide specific information about a particular insurer's products. Additional topics may be offered in conjunction with and in addition to the required outline. An agent who has completed a Division-approved annuity training course before July 1, 2024, must, by January 1, 2025, complete either a new 4-hour training course or an additional one-time, one-credit training course approved by the department of insurance and provided by the Division-approved education provider on appropriate sales practices, replacement and disclosure mandates. The satisfaction of the training requirements of another state that are substantially similar to the provisions listed above are deemed to satisfy the training mandates of Indiana. The satisfaction of the components of the training mandates of any course with components substantially similar to the provisions listed above are deemed to satisfy the training mandates of Indiana. Producers must maintain or make available to the Commissioner for five years records of the information collected from the consumer, including disclosures made to the consumer, summaries of oral disclosures and other information used in making the annuity recommendations. If you have a hierarchy of producers, you must share this e-mail with any producers who may not have received it. If you have questions regarding this compliance update, please contact the Indiana Department of Financial Regulation at (800) 457-8283 or on-line at https://faqs.in.gov/hc/en-us/requests/new. |
Beginning April 1, 2024, the following policy regarding annual state appointment fees will go into effect for New Era Life Insurance Companies(New Era Life Insurance Company, New Era Life Insurance Company of the Midwest, and Philadelphia American Life Insurance Company):
For agents actively writing business in a state for any of New Era Life Insurance Companies - If an agent is actively writing business in a state or receiving overrides, and their downline agents have issued and paid at least 2 indemnity policies in the past 6 months, New Era has agreed to cover the appointment renewal fee in that state.
For agents not actively writing business in a state for any of New Era Life Insurance Companies - If an agent is not actively writing business in a state, the agent will need to cover their own annual state appointment renewal fee. Any active agent appointed with the state will have their appointment automatically renewed with New Era. These fees, imposed by each state's Department of Insurance, will now be the agent's responsibility. The state appointment renewal fee will be deducted from the agent's commission account.
Declining appointment renewals in a state for any of New Era Life Insurance Companies - Please note that if an agent wishes to decline an appointment renewal in a state, the agent must notify New Era's licensing department at least 30 days before the renewal date. Once a licensing renewal fee is paid to the state, refunds cannot be issued to agents. Please see the state chart. This outlines each state appointment renewal fee, and the date appointment cancellation must be received by New Era.
If you wish to submit a cancellation request to New Era Life, please use the following to contact:
U65 Market:
Senior Market:
If you have any questions, please contact New Era Life Insurance Companies agent support at 888.748.3035.
Ameritas Dental Network Expansion News!
Ameritas is excited to announce the expansion of their Ameritas Classic dental network through a new network-sharing arrangement with United Concordia Companies Inc. (United Concordia) effective May 1, 2024.* They anticipate this will increase their dental network access points by more than 5,100, while improving our network utilization by approximately 2%. Actuarial will release state-specific network numbers in March.**
This network expansion will increase claim savings for your members, help close the network gap, and increase your sales opportunities.
There will be no changes to member ID cards and the new providers will be added to the provider online directory.
Contact your Ameritas sales representative to learn more!
New Payment Options in Effect
Wellabe wants to ensure that our agents are well prepared for persisting business and protected from chargebacks. To eliminate clients’ unhonored payments caused by card failures and keep your hard-earned business on the books, Wellabe has updated its payment options.
As of March 1, they will only accept valid automatic bank drafts for Final Expense initial payments. They will no longer accept credit cards, debit cards, and Direct Express card payments during the application process. That’s because MyEnroller® can instantly validate bank account information to protect your sales. Customers currently making payments via credit cards, debit cards, and Direct Express card payments will continue as they are today.
New Social Security Requirements
Beginning April 1, 2024, all new Final Expense and Health insurance applicants will require a Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). This requirement will help streamline the application process by improving instant-decisioning and straight-through processing. SSNs and ITINs are a reliable and universal way to verify a person’s identity. They will allow Wellabe to determine if someone already has coverage while reducing the number of duplicate accounts. Wellabe will also be able to properly identify household discount allocations for customers with multiple policies and verify coverage thresholds.
Quality business gets you well rewarded.
When you’re in sales, it’s easy to focus solely on the quantity of business you’re generating. However, concentrating on the quality of your business is just as important for your bottom line and for building client relationships. When you prioritize quality business, Wellabe recognizes and rewards you. Explore the following tools to help you keep your business in good shape.
If you have any questions, please contact our Agent Sales Support at 866-252-5594, option 2, Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central time.
In case you missed the news, Liberty Medicare Advantage is live in 5 new counties!
Great news! Liberty Medicare has expanded their geographic coverage again in 2024 to include Pitt, Wayne, Wilson, Greene, and Lenoir Counties. These counties will become commissionable on 3/1/2024 for all plan effectives 4/1 and beyond!
This is an important announcement for agents with customers in California, Florida, North Dakota, and Washington and for those with business in these states. The counties below are under a federal or state designated SEP due to an emergency.
Please note: A disaster SEP application is only valid while the SEP declaration is in effect. If an end date is not listed below, please refer to our Ongoing SEP tracker in Producers’ University for the most up-to-date information. Any SEP applications submitted outside of that SEP’s declaration date will be rejected.
IMPORTANT:
- Please be aware this does not mean that active marketing can occur.
- The SEP is only for the purpose of providing a SEP to impacted individuals who had a valid election during the incident and were unable to make that election due to the emergency.
- This does not mean that Cigna Healthcare initiates waiving of authorization or referral requirements.
- This does not extend waiving of prior authorizations, referrals etc.
SEP for Government Entity-Declared Disaster or Other Emergency
42 CFR 422.62(b)(18)
(Rev. 2, Issued: August 12, 2020; Effective/Implementation: 01-01-2021)
An SEP exists for individuals affected by a disaster or other emergency declared by a Federal, state or local government entity who were unable to, and did not make an election during another valid election period. This includes both enrollment and disenrollment elections.
Individuals are eligible for this SEP if they:
- reside or resided at the start of the SEP eligibility period where a federal, state or local government entity declared a disaster or other emergency.
- were eligible for another election period at the time of the Disaster Election Period (DST) eligibility period.
- did not make an election during that other valid election period due to the disaster or other emergency.
The SEP starts on the date the declaration was made or the incident start date whichever is earlier. The SEP ends two full calendar months following the end date identified in the declaration or the date the end of the incident is announced, whichever is later.
California
FEMA declaration: Severe Storm and Flooding
SEP incident dates: 01/21/2024 - 03/19/2024
This SEP declaration is effective: 01/21/2024 - 04/30/2024
Impacted counties for SEP purposes: San Diego County
Florida
Declaration information UPDATE: Renewal
State declaration: Hurricane Nicole
SEP incident dates: 11/07/2022 - 05/17/2024
This SEP declaration is effective: 11/07/2022 - 06/30/2024
Impacted counties for SEP purposes: Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Escambia, Flagler, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Glades, Gulf, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Holmes, Indian River, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Nassau, Okaloosa, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Volusia, Wakulla, Walton, and Washington Counties
North Dakota
Declaration information NEW: Retro approval
FEMA declaration: Severe Winter Storm and Straight-line Winds
SEP incident dates: 08/18/2023 - 03/15/2024
This SEP declaration is effective: 08/18/2023 - 04/30/2024
Impacted counties for SEP purposes: Barnes, Cass, Dickey, Grant, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Steele, Stutsman, Traill Counties
Washington
Declaration information NEW: Retro approval
FEMA declaration: Wildfires
SEP incident dates: 08/18/2023 - 03/15/2024
This SEP declaration is effective: 08/18/2023 - 04/30/2024
Impacted counties for SEP purposes: Spokane County
Updates to Cigna's DST application process
Two key updates:
- The date of the disaster is no longer required on any DST applications.
- The missed election period is not required on most applications. See clarification below.
Keep in mind: Some missed election periods will still require you to input the missed election period AND the date of the missed election period on the application. Some examples include MOV (moving) or LEC (losing group coverage). The application will contain an "open" date field next to the SEP selections that still require a date to help you know when it is required.
Please read below for important application instructions.
For all applications, ensure that the following fields are completed:
- Select "SEP" in the Select Enrollment Period field.
- Enter code "DST" in the SEP Code field.
- If applicable, enter the date that applies for the missed election period. For example, a date is needed only if the missed SEP already required a date, such as moving, losing group coverage, losing or gaining Medicaid, etc. If the missed SEP or election period does not require a date on the application, the missed election period is not required. However, adding it on the application will expedite our review process. (i.e., AEP, OEP, LIS, MDE).
DST is not a stand-alone election period. For questions about DST eligibility, please review Cigna's Election Period grid, found in the Resource Center of Producers' University.