SB 263: Insurance: annuities and life insurance policies.

Existing law generally regulates classes of insurance, including life insurance and annuities. Existing law requires insurers to establish a system to supervise recommendations and set standards and procedures for recommendations for annuity products, which applies to any recommendation to purchase, exchange, or replace an annuity made to a consumer that results in the purchase, exchange, or replacement that was recommended. Existing law requires an insurance producer recommending the purchase or exchange of an annuity to have reasonable grounds for believing that the recommendation is suitable for the consumer, as specified.

This bill would limit application of these provisions to (1) a recommendation of an annuity made before January 1, 2025, that results in the purchase, exchange, or replacement that was recommended and (2) a sale of an annuity made before January 1, 2025, that is not based on a recommendation.

This bill would, with respect to the sales or recommendations of annuities made on or after January 1, 2025, require producers to act in the best interest of the consumer when making a recommendation of an annuity. The bill would require an insurer to establish, maintain, and utilize a system to supervise recommendations for annuities, which would apply to any sale of or recommendation made to a consumer to purchase, exchange, or replace an annuity. The bill would set forth various duties of an insurer and producer to ensure that recommended annuities are in the consumers best interest, and would specify obligations that ensure a producer has acted in the best interest of a consumer, including the provision of specified information to the consumer. The bill would require a life insurer to provide a buyers guide to all consumers who purchase an annuity. The bill would authorize the commissioner to require certain actions by, and impose sanctions and penalties on, insurers and their agents for a violation of these provisions.

Existing law requires an insurance producer who is otherwise entitled to engage in the sale of annuity products to complete an annuity training course approved by the Insurance Commissioner prior to commencing the transaction of annuities.

This bill would apply this training requirement to producers who hold a life insurance line of authority, as specified, and who desire to sell annuities.

This bill would require a life agent, licensed on or after January 1, 2024, who engages in the sale of specified life insurance policies on or after January 1, 2025, to complete specified hours of life insurance training courses before soliciting consumers to sell these life insurance policies. The bill would require any life agent, who engages in the sale of variable life insurance policies, to complete specified hours of training before renewing their license. The bill would apply these training provisions to licenses that are issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025.