Executive Life (CA)
Comments Sought on Rehabilitator's Proposal
On Monday, certain participating guaranty associations (PGAs) will receive Arthur Andersen's review of the Rehabilitator's proposed changes to Executive Life Schedule 9.3.3. If you represent one of these affected GA, please alert NOLHGA of your agreement or disagreement with the proposed changes as soon as possible.
In early March, these PGAs: Alabama, Alaska, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin received from William Palmer, Special Deputy Insurance Commissioner, a letter with the proposed changes to Schedule 9.3.3. The task force secured an extension until April 22 for PGAs to respond to the proposed changes. Aurora and the California Conservation and Liquidation Office, however, have asked that PGAs respond by April 15, if possible, as the change amounts involving additional payments to policyholders will be paid to the policyholders or beneficiaries as soon as practicable after the Schedule is approved.
At the task force's request, Arthur Andersen determined the reason for change in every case, and reviewed the reasons for such changes in cases where the dollar amount of the change exceeded $20,000. With the exception of two possible problems, Arthur Andersen did not note any discrepancies. PGAs with comments on their schedule are asked to call Kevin Stephens of Arthur Andersen at 202.862.2566. PGAs that decide not to object to the proposed changes are asked to notify Angela Franklin at 703.787.4105.
Staff Contact - Executive Life (CA)Installment Report Distributed
Executive Life participating guaranty associations received this week a report and an explanatory memo from Arthur Andersen concerning the Eighth Executive Life installment bill, due for payment by April 30. The total amount due is $65,985,563. In mid-February, PGAs received a detailed billing from Aurora showing the amount due from each association. The Arthur Andersen memorandum is intended to clarify and explain the recommended allocation among assessment sub-accounts. Also included in the Arthur Andersen package are instructions for payment of the bill. PGAs are asked to confirm their payments to Angela Franklin.
Staff Contact -Additional GA Payments Under Review
Aurora's Second Additional Installment Payment request, a true up of last year's "Bullet" payment, was sent to PGAs last week. The Request, dated March 4, 1999, is due for payment on June 3, 1999. The total amount due is $3,370,845. Arthur Andersen is reviewing the Payment Request and expects to report the results of this review to PGAs at the end of April.
Arthur Andersen is also reviewing the Defeasance Schedule prepared by Aurora and sent to PGAs the week of March 15. The task force expects the review to be completed at the end of April and will then report the results to PGAs.
Task Force Chair - Art Dummer; New Jersey Life (NJ)Final Distribution
The Special Deputy Liquidator has begun the process of making a final distribution of the estate's assets. Checks for the final Notice of Determination amounts are currently being distributed to affected guaranty associations.
Task Force Chair - William Falck;NOLHGA Files Amicus Brief
The Missouri Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association asked that NOLHGA join in its appeal and submit an amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court of Missouri in connection with Quackenbush v. Missouri Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association. In mid-December of 1998, NOLHGA filed an amicus brief in support of the Missouri association's motion to transfer the case to the Missouri Supreme Court. The transfer motion having been successful, NOLHGA was asked to submit a brief on the merits seeking reversal of a decision by the Court of Appeals finding guaranty association coverage for certain structured settlement annuities. Missouri has an express statutory exclusion for allocated annuities which were not issued to or owned by an individual. Notwithstanding, the Court of Appeals found coverage, relying upon the statutory "liberal construction" language to expand coverage in this case. The Legal Committee reviewed the request and unanimously voted on February 26, 1999 to proceed with filing. NOLHGA's brief was filed on April 5, 1999.
Staff Contact - Joni ForsytheYear 2000 Insolvency Contingency Plan Committee
Continuing the Committee's ongoing update of activities, please note the following:
Guaranty associations should have received two packages: (1) March 17 package focusing on communications with regulators and (2) March 31 package including an evaluation guide which should assist guaranty associations in testing their operations for Year 2000 compliance. As a reminder, the Committee would appreciate feedback from administrators regarding any meetings they have had with their domestic regulators regarding Year 2000. Administrators are also reminded to stress to their domestic regulators the need for them to ensure that accurate and adequate data archives are maintained by insurance companies doing business in their state. In the event of a receivership compounded by Year 2000 issues, accurate backup records will be critical.
We hope the evaluation guide proves helpful to administrators in evaluating their own internal systems. Comments, along with other websites that administrators have found useful, should be forwarded to Paul Peterson at NOLHGA.
Committee members have also recently met with three insurance companies to discuss Year 2000 issues and contingency plans. The discussions focused on the company's Year 2000 plans and their perspective on the issues facing guaranty associations including expansion of the data element listing included in the March 17 communications package and possible resources that may be available to assist the guaranty association system as well as the skills needed to deal with insolvencies that may involve Year 2000 issues. The Committee intends to gather further input from several more companies. Also, an expanded data element listing will be distributed to guaranty associations in the near future for their use in discussions with their domestic regulators.
Committee Chair - Jack Falkenbach; Staff Contact - Paul PetersonNOLHGA Institutional Memory Project
An invitation has been extended to all administrators to come see and experience NOLHGA's institutional memory system on May 18, prior to the MPC meeting. In the future, administrators will have access to the system via NOLHGANet. Live demonstrations are scheduled for 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. If you are interested in attending one of the demonstrations, please contact Beth Watson at 703.787.4112 or by e-mailing her at [email protected]. We are excited about the system and look forward to sharing it with you.
CALENDAR/CONFERENCE CALLS
April 12-13 April Midwest Regional Guaranty Association Meeting, St. Louis, MO
April 15 Legal Seminar Planning Committee Teleconference, 2 pm EDT
April 15-16 Southeast Regional Guaranty Association Meeting, Savannah, GA
April 30 Legal Committee Claims Valuation Subgroup, Hilton O'Hare, Chicago, IL, 10 am
May 11 Legal Committee, Wyndham Garden Hotel (O'Hare Airport), Chicago, IL, 10:30am
Special Announcement:
The Legal Seminar Planning Committee is hard at work putting together the final program for NOLHGA's 8th annual Legal Seminar! Brochures and seminar registration materials will be mailed towards the end of May, but it is not too early to reserve your room(s). There has been a tremendous amount of interest expressed in this year's event, by both new and returning attendees. We expect record breaking turnout, including administrators, lawyers, GA staff and boards, consultants and regulators, as well as industry representatives and members of other industry organizations. Please give us a call if you or someone you know would like to be added to our distribution list for this event.
The program is packed with exciting, fresh and timely topics, as well as several powerhouse guest speakers. You do not want to miss this year's event!! As in past years, we expect this year's program to be fully accredited by the state Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) Boards and to earn between 9 and 11 CLE credits per state (including ethics). (This means that the lawyers among us should be bringing their associates along to take advantage of the CLE accreditation!!)
Hotel Accommodations
The seminar will be held at the Silvertree Hotel and Conference Center July 15-16, in Snowmass, Colorado. The Silvertree is now accepting reservations under NOLHGA's room block. To make reservations, call the Silvertree Hotel at 1.800.525.9402 or 970.923.5494. Be sure to indicate that you are attending the NOLHGA Legal Seminar so that you will be included in NOLHGA's room block and afforded the special discount rate for this event ($105 per night). This rate will be honored for all NOLHGA guests for 3 days before and after the event to accommodate those who wish to extend their stays to take advantage of some of the many summer events and activities available, including rafting trips, hot air ballooning, golf, horseback riding, nature trails, biking and roller blading excursions, to name a few. We will be providing additional information on summer activities in the near future.
Travel Arrangements
NOLHGA has obtained group travel discount rates for Legal Seminar attendees through United Airlines. A price sheet is attached which lists the discount airfare into Aspen by state. These rates are valid from July 12th through the 19th. To obtain the group discount rate, you must make your airline reservations through Agency International at 1-800-831-6163, ext. 15. Ask for Ashley Collier.
If you have any questions regarding this year's event, please feel free to call Joni Forsythe at (703) 787-4103. We look forward to seeing you this summer!
Legal Seminar Planning Committee Chair - Frank D. O'Loughlin; Staff Contact - Joni ForsytheAgency International 22 Lenox
Point, N.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30324
(404) 266-2200
Fax (404) 261-1511
Contact - Reservations must be made throughAshley Collier at Agency International1-800-831-6163, ext. 15
Airline - Must fly on United Airlines
Travel Period - Discount and area fares valid for travel to/from Aspen, July 12th through 19th
Discount - 5% discount off any UNITED published excursion fare.Additional 5% off when tickets are issued 60 days prior to travel.
- OR -
Pre-set Area fares (listed below), whichever is lower
Advance Purchase - Minimum 7 day advance purchaseFares subject to availability
Minimum Stay - For Published Fares, determined by fare rule.For Area Fares, a two day minimum stay is required
AREA FARES: These fares are a close estimate, but will vary due to fluctuations in the airport taxes from each city. Area Fares are only offered if a minimum of 25 passengers will be ticketed for this group. If Area Fares are used and the minimum is not met, a $50.00 per ticketed passenger penalty will be administered to contracted company (NOLHGA).
Fly from any United city in: Approximate Fare DC, MA, MD, PA, VA $574
CT, DE, ME, NH, NJ,NY,RI,VT,WV,CANADA-NS,ON,PQ $574
AL,FL,GA,MS,NC,SC,TN $584
IA,IL,IN,KS,KY,MI,MN,MO,NE,OH,WI $488
AR,LA,NM,OK,TX $439
CO,MT,ND,SD,UT,WY $412
ID,OR,WA,CANADA-AB,BC $452
AZ,CA,NV $431
AK $600