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NAIC President-elect Bell to Speak at NOLHGA's 23rd Annual Meeting

Walter Bell, commissioner of the Alabama Department of Insurance and president-elect of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), will speak at NOLHGA's 23rd Annual Meeting, which will be held October 10 and 11, 2006, in Dana Point, Calif. He is expected to provide an update on the NAIC's regulatory modernization efforts and to detail the organization's stance on possible federal regulation of insurance.

Bell was named Alabama's chief insurance regulator in January 2003 after a 20-year career in financial services. After serving as a banker in his native Mobile, Commissioner Bell joined The MONY Group as a financial professional in 1983. He served as national director for Emerging Markets before being named the company vice president for Diversity Marketing. In addition to being president-elect of the NAIC, he also serves as chairman of the NAIC Speed-to-Market Task Force and is vice chairman of both the Executive Committee and the Internal Administration (EX1) Subcommittee. He is a member of the Life Insurance and Annuities (A), International Insurance Relations (G), Information Resources Management (H), and Consumer Liaison Committees. He is also a member of the NAIC Consumer Participation Board of Trustees.

NOLHGA's 23rd Annual Meeting will be hosted by the beautiful Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa, a four-diamond resort located on the cliffs of the Pacific coast. An MPC meeting will be held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting on October 9. More information on the Annual Meeting and MPC meeting will appear in future issues of the NOLHGA Wire and in other NOLHGA publications.

Staff Contact - Sean McKenna

Massachusetts Health Insurance Plan to Be Discussed at Legal Seminar

Stacey Sachs, a member of Sen. Ted Kennedy's (D-Mass.) staff and senior health policy fellow on the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, will discuss coverage of America's uninsured and provide insight on Massachusetts's new health insurance plan at NOLHGA's 14th Annual Legal Seminar. In her present position, Sachs is responsible for a wide range of health issues, including Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, health insurance, and community health centers. Previously, she was a senior advisor to both the Chief Administration Law Judge and the Judge in Charge of Medicare Appeals and Supervisory Attorney for the Division of Medicare Appeals at the Social Security Administration; she was also an attorney at the Department of Labor.

NOLHGA's 14th Annual Legal Seminar will be held August 3 and 4, 2006, at The Renaissance Harborplace Hotel in Baltimore, Md. (an MPC meeting will be held August 1 and 2). Registration brochures for the Legal Seminar were mailed this week, and a preliminary agenda and registration materials are available on the meeting Web page.

Staff Contact - Kentucky Central Life Insurance Company (Ky.)

Kentucky Central Court Approves Distribution of Funds

On June 12, 2006, the Kentucky Central Liquidation Court entered an order approving the liquidator's motion for authorization to distribute funds totaling approximately $111 million to pay outstanding claims against the Kentucky Central estate. Of the $111 million to be distributed, just under $16.5 million will be paid to the participating guaranty associations as reimbursement for post-closing policyholder benefits provided during the course of the five-year plan. Another $68 million will be paid as opt-in reimbursable amounts owed to the former Kentucky Central policyholders who agreed to participate in the assumption transfer to Jefferson-Pilot. The balance will be paid on various Class 5 unsecured creditor claims, as specified in the pleadings.

The liquidator expects to make the distribution on or before June 30, and task force consultants at PricewaterhouseCoopers will be providing support for the allocation of the distribution among the participating associations. Upon receipt of this distribution, the participating associations will have been repaid in full for the amounts paid to support policy benefits to Kentucky Central policyholders. Guaranty association expense claims were previously repaid pursuant to an Expense Settlement Agreement approved by the court in July 2004. The estate is expected to remain open at least through the end of the year, and the liquidator has retained assets sufficient to cover the costs of winding down the affairs of the estate, including reimbursement for additional expenses owed to NOLHGA in accordance with the Expense Settlement Agreement.

Judge Graham, who has overseen this case since its inception, is expected to retire at the end of June.

Task Force Chair - John Colpean; Staff Contact - Joni Forsythe Legion/Villanova Life Insurance Companies (Pa.)

Early Access Distributions Received

On the week of June 11, 2006, NOLHGA received early access distributions from Legion and Villanova pertaining to expense and policy-level claims for those guaranty associations that elected to participate in the early access agreement. The distributions included reimbursement of guaranty association and NOLHGA expenses accepted by the receiver as of December 31, 2004, along with a 15.5% distribution of policy-level claims paid on Legion. The total amount received was approximately $2.1 million. NOLHGA expects to distribute the funds to affected guaranty associations during the week of June 18.

Task Force Chair - Pete Leonard; Staff Contact - Paul Peterson

2005 Guaranty Association Assessment Information Due July 31

The 2005 version of the annual request for assessment information was sent to all guaranty associations via e-mail on June 14, 2006. Responses are due no later than July 31.

As in past years, each state guaranty association is to report assessments made, assessments called, and refund information by insolvency and by account. Unlike past years, this data collection will be made via a new online reporting tool on NOLHGA's Web site. The e-mail message contained a link to the site along with general comments on the new reporting tool, and we urge all guaranty associations to respond before the due date. In addition, suggestions for improving the reporting tool may be sent to either Dan Hicks or Paul Peterson at NOLHGA.

If you encounter any difficulties, please contact Paul Peterson at [email protected] or 703.787.4119 or Dan Hicks at [email protected] or 703.787.4112.

Staff Contact - Paul Peterson

MPC Chair Stage 1 Ballots Due June 23

The first stage of balloting for the next MPC Chair ends on June 23, 2006. All Stage 1 ballots should be returned to Candie Kinch at the Idaho Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association no later than June 23. If you have any questions or need another ballot, please contact Ms. Kinch at 208.378.9510.