To compete successfully in New York State’s the evolving and highly regulated insurance marketplace, you need the expert advice and counsel that Hinman Straub can offer.
Our experienced attorneys combine their understanding of the insurance industry and regulatory landscape with an insider’s understanding of how regulators think. We have a proven track-record of assisting our clients — which include commercial insurance companies, agents and brokers — in meeting their business and strategic goals.
Annuity
No product area has seen more innovation than annuities. Our attorneys have been involved for over 30 years with annuity product development and related issues.
In the individual annuity setting, our attorneys have worked on the regulatory and industry side in the development of excess interest annuities, modified guaranteed annuities (CD annuities), equity indexed annuities, guaranteed paid-up deferred annuities (longevity annuities), variable annuities with guaranteed living benefits (GMIBs, GMABs and GMWBs), immediate annuities with commutation provisions, structured settlement annuities and Medicaid annuities. We have also participated in discussions and corresponded with our clients and with the New York Insurance Department on contingent annuities.
In the group setting, our attorneys are familiar with all products sold to institutional clients, including guaranteed investment contracts (GICs), immediate participation guarantee contracts, deposit administration contracts, terminal funding contracts and closeout contracts, guaranteed separate account products and synthetic GICs. We understand the uses of group annuity contracts in funding qualified plans under IRC Sections 401(a), 401(k), 403(b), 408, 412(i) and other sections of the IRC, as well as nonqualified plans. In addition, we are familiar with federal compliance matters ranging from ERISA fiduciary concerns to the Arizona v. Norris decision. Our attorneys have also been involved with the evolution and development of funding agreements, their markets and uses since the early 1980s.
We recognize the life insurance industry’s unique ability to provide longevity protection and are ready to assist insurers in bringing new products to market and in making lifetime income options more readily available to individuals and to plan participants. We can provide assistance in product development, product and separate account filings, prior approval, post approval review and market conduct issues relating to annuities, including replacements, advertisements and illustrations.
For additional information, please see the section on Life Insurance in our Insurance Practice area.
Health
Health insurance is among the most heavily regulated industries in New York State. We offer our clients counsel on a broad range of matters relating to health insurance products, including guidance through the state’s complex regulatory processes and on transactional matters.
Our area of expertise includes product regulation, market conduct, corporate conduct and financial condition regulation, New York and throughout the nation. We also provide our clients with assistance relating to government and internal investigations, enforcement actions, litigation and compliance matters, and regulatory and strategic legal advice on mergers and acquisitions and other corporate transactions.
Hinman Straub has built its reputation on the services we provide to regulated industries and our commitment to achieving regulatory results for clients in an increasingly regulated insurance industry.
Life
Life insurance is among the most heavily regulated industries. Life insurance and annuity products are constantly evolving to keep pace with market demands and changing federal and state statutory and regulatory requirements. It is no surprise, then, that our clients rely on our Life Insurance practice attorneys to guide them through complex regulatory processes.
Our Life Insurance attorneys are among the top legal experts in the field, with extensive experience in the life insurance industry, including as regulators in New York. We offer our clients personal attention on a wide range of life insurance legal matters from product regulation, market conduct, corporate conduct and financial condition regulation, both in New York and throughout the nation.
We have represented various segments of the life insurance industry, providing services on topics which include:
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- Multi-state review and analysis
- Policy forms and rate filings, certified and prior approval process for: – Individual annuities – Individual life insurance – Group annuities – Group life insurance – Funding agreements – Synthetic GICs and other incidental or ancillary activities
- Representation before insurance regulators and government officials
- Advertising and marketing issues
- Resolution of statutory exam and market conduct and corporate conduct issues
- Policy replacement issues
- Insurance contract drafting and guidance on innovative products
- Interpretation of new and existing laws/regulations
- Corporate organizational and holding company issues
- Licenses for companies, producers and independent adjusters
- Post approval review files
- Compensation filings
- Separate account plans of operation filings
- Contracts with producers
- Reinsurance issues
- Charitable annuity societies
- Fraternal benefit societies
- Company compliance policies and procedures
- Annual reporting to state regulators
The satisfaction of our Life Insurance clients is reflected in the significant and ongoing growth of our Life Insurance practice over the past several years.