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NV Governor signs bill to change Nevada
Division of Insurance funding, beef up consumer protections
regarding viaticals
06/01/09 - CARSON
CITY, Nev. – Gov. Jim Gibbons signed a bill Friday
that will change the funding structure of the Nevada
Division of Insurance and strengthen consumer protections
in the area of viatical settlements.
The bill, Senate Bill 426, passed
May 22 in the state Assembly with a 37-5 vote, and was
signed Friday by the Governor. It moves the funding
of the Division of Insurance from the state’s
General Fund to a newly created Fund for Insurance Administration
and Enforcement, allowing the Division to completely
rely on a fee-based funding structure widely supported
by the state’s insurance industry.
“Under this new funding method,
the Division will not be subjected to the whims of the
economy,” Nevada Insurance Commissioner Scott
J. Kipper said. “It will allow the Division to
add the necessary staff to continue to adequately regulate
Nevada’s insurance business, a $12 billion industry
in the state.”
SB426 also revises provisions regarding
viatical settlements, consistent with the National Association
of Insurance Commissioners Model Act. The bill:
- Establishes a five-year waiting
period to viaticate a life insurance policy, except
in certain specific circumstances;
- Improves accountability and transparency
by requiring additional notices and disclosures;
- Enhances advertising and marketing
guidelines for viatical and life settlement products;
and
- Regulates the securities side
of viatical/life settlement transactions through the
Office of the Secretary of State.
“We feel very strongly about
the consumer protections this bill provides,”
Commissioner Kippsaid. “This law will ensure that
the integrity of life insurance will not be undermined
by those who would use it as a way to speculate on human
life, while still allowing those who need to viaticate
a policy to be able to do so."
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