Annuity News

March 2010

National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Model Regulation on the Use of Senior-Specific Certifications and Professional Designations in the Sale of Life Insurance and Annuities

A Detailed Summary

It is an unfair and deceptive act for an insurance producer to use a senior-specific certification or professional designation in a manner that misleads a prospective purchaser by implying that the producer has special training in advising seniors about life insurance or annuities. A deceptive senior-specific designation is prohibited whether used directly with a client or indirectly through publications, writings or reports on life insurance or annuities.

A prohibited senior-specific certification or professional designation includes, but is not limited to, one that:

1. You have not earned or are ineligible to use;
2. Is nonexistent or self-conferred;
3. Implies education, training or experience that you do not have; and
4. You obtained from a certifying or designating organization that:
   • Is primarily engaged in the business of instruction in sales or marketing;
   • Does not have reasonable standards or procedures for ensuring its designees’ competence;
   • Does not have reasonable procedures to monitor its designees and discipline unethical conduct; or
   • Does not require reasonable continuing education credits to maintain the designation.
   • Even if its certifying or designating organization does not meet the requirements under item 4, a designation may qualify for use if:
     • It does not apply primarily to sales and marketing, and
     • The designation, or the organization that issued it, has been accredited by:
       • The American National Standards Institute (ANSI);
       • The National Commission for Certifying Agencies; or
       • Any organization that is on the U.S. Department of Education’s list entitled “Accrediting Agencies Recognized for Title IV Purposes.”

A professional designation may imply special training in advising seniors when it combines words such as:

• Senior, retirement, elder (or similar words) with
• Certified, registered, chartered, advisor, specialist, consultant, planner or similar words.

Unless used in a manner that would confuse or mislead a consumer, a job title in an organization licensed or registered by a state or federal financial services regulatory agency is not affected by this regulation when it:

• Indicates seniority or standing in the organization; or
• Denotes an area of specialization in the organization.

A financial services regulatory agency includes, but is not limited to, one that regulates:

• insurers;
• insurance producers;
• broker-dealers;
• investment advisers, or
• investment companies as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940.