GA Update Online is intended for NOLHGA’s guaranty association members only. The contents are confidential and should not be shared with third parties. NOLHGA reserves all rights with respect to applicable privileges from disclosure.
IN THIS EDITION:
- Introduction
- 2024 Annual Meeting
- Constituency Relationships
- MPC Activities
- Committee Activity
- Other Activity
- Financial Activities
- Operations
- Publications
- Systems Support/Technology/Website
Introduction
On February 27, 2025, the NOLHGA Board of Directors held its most recent quarterly meeting in Phoenix. Relevant portions of the management report provided to the Board at the meeting are included in this issue of GA Update Online.
Since the October 7, 2024, Board meeting, significant staff time has been devoted to (1) coordination and support for insolvency task force activity, including significant staff support for Global Bankers Insurance Group (especially the November 2024 liquidations of Bankers Life and Colorado Bankers Life), Penn Treaty/ANIC, SHIP, North Carolina Mutual, PHL Variable Insurance Company, and the Columbian Life Insurance Companies; (2) conducting the 2024 Annual Meeting and January 2025 MPC meeting; (3) continuing development of AssessConnect, the assessment service for member guaranty associations; (4) the debut of the redesign of the public section of the NOLHGA website and planning for the redesign of the members-only section; (5) supporting member associations with business services, in particular technology hosting and cybersecurity services; and (6) participating in and providing expertise and support to many MPC Executive Committee–chartered committees and subgroups and other Board and MPC committees, subgroups, and activities.
2024 Annual Meeting
NOLHGA’s 2024 Annual Meeting was held on October 7–9 at the JW Marriott Nashville. The meeting featured the Annual Meetings of GABC and LTC Re; an MPC meeting; a lessons learned report from the Penn Treaty/ANIC Task Force; presentations on the life and health insurance markets and the U.S. economy; and more. The meeting received a rating of 4.47 (out of 5) on meeting evaluations.
Constituency Relationships
Member Support & Collaboration
NOLHGA Chief of Staff Jenn Webb joined Sonni Peterson (Ohio guaranty association) and the NCIGF’s Ashley Rosenberger for a “GA 101” presentation to the Ohio Department of Insurance in February.
International Association of Insurance Receivers (IAIR)
NOLHGA staff worked to provide a panel at the 2025 IAIR Resolution Workshop that addressed how life and health insurance guaranty associations work with receivers to protect policyholders. The presentation featured moderator Joel Glover (Faegre Drinker) and panelists Paul Miller (EquiTrust), Don Roof (Examination Resources), and CO Commissioner Mike Conway.
MPC Activities
MPC Education Project
Since the last Board report, a number of educational sessions have been held:
- Strengthening Cybersecurity & Leveraging AI, a panel discussion on how guaranty associations can improve their cybersecurity efforts and safely use AI, was conducted by Jessica Walker (Connecticut), Bill Walker (National Center of Excellence for Cybersecurity), Jason Padgett (United States Cyber Command), Alexandria Royal (Marshall University), and Josh Spence (Alpha Technologies). This session was held at the 2024 Annual Meeting.
- An overview of the Penn Treaty & ANIC Task Force Lessons Learned Report was conducted by Task Force Chair Charles Gullickson (South Dakota), Bart Boles (Texas), Nancy Margolis (Pennsylvania), Michael O’Day (Washington), and Caryn Glawe (Faegre Drinker). This session was also held at the 2024 Annual Meeting.
- Succession Planning, an online panel discussion of the key elements in a guaranty association succession plan, was held on November 20, 2025. Presenters included moderator Bart Boles (Texas), Candie Kinch (Idaho, Oregon, and Wyoming), and Tamara Kopp (Missouri).
- A GA Administrator Roundtable discussion was held at the January 2025 MPC meeting, focusing on technology and operations. Another roundtable is planned for the April MPC meeting.
- An online overview of the MPC Rules & Procedures was conducted on February 18, 2025, by moderator Tom Sullivan (Iowa) and Bart Boles (Texas), John Colpean (Michigan), Jana Lee Pruitt (Kentucky), and Bill O’Sullivan (NOLHGA). This session was held to refresh the membership on the current MPC Rules and Procedures in advance of the start of the work of the MPC Rules and Procedures Drafting Group.
MPC Security Advisory Committee (SAC)
The committee met in December 2024 and has continued its work to oversee compliance with the MPC Security Procedures. Among other matters, the committee received and reviewed reports from (1) outside counsel on legal developments relating to privacy and security and (2) NOLHGA’s IT staff on technology developments relating to cybersecurity. The committee also conducted its annual risk assessment. The committee is working on finalizing its list of 2025 special projects.
Committee Activity
Accounting Issues Committee
The committee met during the January MPC meeting in San Diego and conducted a Q&A session open to all guaranty associations. Questions focused on various accounting matters, including the proper treatment of the Global Bankers companies for year-end audit and statement reporting. Chair Barry Miller (Delaware) gave a presentation on insolvency accounting using the cash, modified cash, and accrual methods of reporting. He also discussed the mentor/mentee program that will be implemented in 2025—so far, four associations have enrolled in the program.
Communications Committee
The committee met in February 2025 to discuss the redesign of the members-only section of the NOLHGA website, in particular how the information in that part of the site can be restructured so that guaranty association administrators and Board members can find what they are looking for quickly. The committee will continue its work on the redesign.
Coverage/Claims Committee
The committee’s Model Act Subgroup continued its work to identify coverage provisions and issues in the GA Model Act that could be clarified through amendments and/or the addition of drafting notes. As a result of meetings conducted during the fall of 2024, the subgroup has compiled a list of potential issues that could be the subject of clarifying amendments to the GA Model Act. The next step in the project is for the subgroup to report its work to the full committee.
GA Laws Committee
In December 2024, the GA Laws Committee sent a written communication to all guaranty association administrators and their Board Chairs providing an update on the status of the adoption of the 2017 GA Model Act Amendments and encouraging the states that have not yet adopted the 20217 amendments to do so. Following that communication, staff has been reaching out to guaranty association representatives in states that have not yet adopted the amendments to encourage them to consider doing so.
So far in 2025, GA Act legislation has only been introduced in Idaho. Because Idaho previously adopted the key provisions of the 2017 Amendments, this bill is limited in scope and seeks to incorporate additional changes conforming to the current version of the NAIC’s GA Model Act. Staff will continue to monitor developments with respect to the Idaho bill, as well as opportunities for legislation in additional states.
Technology & Innovation
NOLHGA finalized a new staff policy on the use of generative AI. The new policy is part of our overall effort to embrace the use of technology appropriately and strategically, as we modernize processes and policies within NOLHGA. The policy will be shared with the Technology and Cybersecurity Committee for its consideration as a resource to the guaranty associations as each state considers if and how to use AI effectively and responsibly.
Other Activity
Cyber Liability Coverage
Legal Department staff arranged for the renewal of NOLHGA’s cyber liability coverage for another annual term commencing on February 9, 2025. The renewal coverage was issued by the same carrier (an affiliate of Tokio Marine) for the same terms as last year ($3 million coverage limit), except the retention amount was reduced from $25,000 to $10,000.
Financial Consultant Request for Proposal
In December 2024, staff issued an RFP to five firms—Milliman, Deloitte, EY, Oliver Wyman, and Columbia Point—to identify an actuarial consulting firm to support the PHL Task Force. Milliman and Deloitte were unable to participate in the RFP due to potential conflicts of interest, but the other three firms submitted timely responses to the RFP. Staff is currently evaluating those responses.
Financial Activities
The Accounting Department calculated and distributed the fourth quarter 2024 quarterly assessments and 2025 Class A Dues. The department also coordinated the following insolvency-related account transactions through January 2025:
- Global Bankers (Bankers Life & Colorado Bankers Life): $207,302,901 to fund claims and expenses
- Life & Health Insurance Company of America: $691,528 to fund claims and expenses and $176,159 for account reconciliation activity
- National States: $204,731 to fund claims and expenses
- North Carolina Mutual (NCM): $61,085,638 to EquiTrust Life Insurance Company for the assumption of NCM’s policies; $314,273 in claims payments; and $389,099 return of premium
- Penn Treaty/ANIC: $193,117 to fund claims and expenses (for ID and SC only) and $24,718,121 in an estate asset distribution to the affected associations
- Southland National (SNIC): $377,020 in account reconciliation activity
- Time Insurance Company: $15,711 to fund claims and expenses
- Universal Life/Booker T. Washington: $314,867 to fund claims and expenses
Operations
AssessConnect
The AssessConnect working group (made up of guaranty association administrators, industry representatives, and NOLHGA staff members) contracted with software developer 3Pillar and began development of the assessment system in September 2024.
The “Core Capabilities” of the AssessConnect tool are expected to be available in spring 2025, after beta testing by both member companies and guaranty associations concludes. These capabilities will allow:
- Member companies to view and update assessment contact information
- Guaranty associations to calculate assessments
- Guaranty associations to download assessment and insurance company details
Assessment Data Survey
The 2023 Assessment Data Survey (ADS) premium data was made available to guaranty associations on September 20, 2024, earlier than normally scheduled in light of the impending liquidations of the Global Bankers companies (Bankers Life and Colorado Bankers Life). The formulas that will be used to determine the state-level assessable premium base for life, health, and annuity guaranty association assessments were updated and sent to the NAIC in early November and posted on the Financial Statement Filing page of the NAIC website. Also, technical specification changes to the 2024 data were reviewed and sent to the NAIC in early January 2025.
A group of guaranty association administrators, member insurers, and consultants conducted an end-to-end review of the ADS process in December and January and developed a set of recommendations to streamline and improve the ADS process. In February, NOLHGA signed a formal agreement with the NAIC to obtain data for ADS and AssessConnect through the organization’s State Based Systems (SBS).
Publications
The November 15, 2024, issue of GA Update Online featured a preview of the NAIC’s Fall National Meeting, and the December 5 issue featured coverage of the guaranty association–related activity at the meeting. The latest edition of the NOLHGA Journal magazine was distributed to subscribers in November 2024, and the latest edition of the GA Update magazine was distributed to the members in January 2025.
Systems Support/Technology/Website
Technical Assistance for GAs
In addition to providing its regular suite of IT services to members, the Systems Department is testing an encrypted email solution that it hopes to make available to members later this year. Dan Hicks (NOLHGA) reported on these services at the January MPC meeting in San Diego.
Network & Cybersecurity
A new security training program was assigned to NOLHGA staff members in February. The program, which will be available to member guaranty associations later this year, includes a mix of videos and quizzes to reinforce key teaching points. In addition, the office switch that directs internet traffic was replaced with a newer model that offers a higher transfer rate and improved security.
NOLHGA Website Redesign
The redesign of the public section of the NOLHGA website was completed in December 2024. The new site features enhanced graphics and new navigation that make it easier for users to find the information they need. The site’s content has also been revised to make it easier for consumers and others to understand the important work of the state life and health insurance guaranty associations and their history of protecting policyholders. The new site runs on a new content management system that makes it easier to update and maintain.
Online Events
NOLHGA successfully deployed its own Secure Wi-Fi service at the January MPC meeting, and the department plans to use this service in future meetings. This will reduce our reliance on the hotel to provide Wi-Fi to attendees. We also added a real-time polling service to a presentation during the GA Administrator Roundtable.