Iowa orders more education for annuity sellers
July 11, 2010 by Karen Mracek
July 10, 2010
Iowa orders more education for annuity sellers
By KAREN MRACEK
kmracek@dmreg.com
All agents and brokers selling annuity products in Iowa will have to receive an additional four hours of continuing education credits beginning Jan. 1, 2011, the Iowa Insurance Division said.
Iowa Insurance Commissioner Susan Voss notified annuity producers of the new requirements in a bulletin dated July 1.
“This is a one-time requirement and is not a condition of license renewal,” Voss said in the memo.
There are approximately 18,000 agents living in Iowa who are licensed to sell life insurance products and would be required to take the class before selling annuities.
Another 33,000 agents from other states are licensed to sell products in Iowa, and they would also be required to complete the continuing education credits.
The move is part of Iowa’s adoption of new suitability standards set out by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Twenty-nine other states are expected to adopt similar requirements in the future. California currently requires additional education before selling annuities.
“We want to make sure that the sales forces are properly trained in the products they are selling,” said Tom Alger, spokesman for the division. “We think it is a product people should have some expertise in before they are marketing it.”
The Iowa courses will be provided by Pearson VUE, and will include some of the basics of the products as well as appropriate sales practices and replacement and disclosure requirements.
Several major sellers of annuities are based or have operations in Iowa, including American Equity Investment Life Holding Co., ING USA Annuity and Life Insurance Co., Transamerica Life Insurance Co., EquiTrust Life Insurance Co., CUNA Mutual Life, Midland National Life Insurance Co., and Aviva USA Life and Annuity Co.
Aviva USA, which sold $1.13 billion in annuities in the first quarter, says it was anticipating the new requirement.
“Aviva supports the rule as it allows us to deliver an even higher level of consumer education regarding these important retirement savings tools,” said Maureen Closson, senior vice president, compliance for Aviva USA.
She said the company will be fully compliant by the implementation date and the new requirement will “have minimal impact to our company.”
