December 11, 2008

SOURCE: InsuranceNewsNet, Inc.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has scheduled a hearing for Dec. 17 on a proposal to regulate annuities.

Although the announcement does not say the commission will be considering proposed Rule 151A, it did use terms from the proposal: “The Commission will consider whether to adopt amendments that would define terms related to annuity contracts under the Securities Act of 1933, and whether to adopt amendments related to periodic reporting requirements under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.”

The rule focuses on indexed annuities, which the SEC said are securities because they are tied to the equities market. The industry disagrees, saying they are insurance contracts because the insurers bear the risk and not the consumer.

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