Austin City Limits Comes to NOLHGA’s Annual Meeting

NOLHGA’s 2019 Annual Meeting will be held at the Fairmont Austin in Austin, Texas, on October 10 and 11, with an MPC meeting on October 9. It has come to our attention that the Austin City Limits Music Festival will be held on the weekends before and after the Annual Meeting—October 4–6 and 11–13.

The NOLHGA room rate for the Annual Meeting is $299/night plus tax, and it will be honored three days before and three days after the meeting, depending on room availability. If you plan to arrive early or stay late, we suggest that you reserve your rooms as soon as possible by calling the Fairmont Austin at 888.240.7773 and requesting the NOLHGA rate.

  Staff Contact - Sean McKenna

MPC Meets in Phoenix

The Members’ Participation Council (MPC) met in Phoenix on April 18, 2019. The Penn Treaty Network America/American Network Insurance Companies (Pennsylvania) Task Force conducted a closed-session presentation, and the Lincoln Memorial/Memorial Service Life Insurance Companies (Texas) Task Force conducted a litigation update. The meeting also featured a presentation on the use of reinsurance in the long-term-care market (by Daniel Lewallen and Caryn Glawe of Faegre Baker Daniels and Matt Morton of LTCG), as well as meetings of the Accounting Issues Committee, MPC Executive Committee, and the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company (North Carolina) and Universal Life/Booker T. Washington Insurance Companies (Alabama) Task Forces. The Northwestern National Insurance Company of Milwaukee (Wisconsin) MPC also met.

The meeting also featured three education sessions presented by the Administrators Education Steering Committee:

• GA Boards of Directors: Observations & Insights from Directors Currently Serving on Multiple Boards, with Gerrie Marks (Vice President of Government Affairs, Prudential: AK, AZ, CA, HI, NM & OR Guaranty Association Boards), Greg Martino (Vice President of State Government Affairs, Aetna: CA, FL, IL, MI, OH, PA, VA, WA, WV & WY Guaranty Association Boards), and Kevin Smith (Senior Vice President & Chief Legal Officer—Life Business & Operations, Genworth Financial: DE, NC, SC & VA Guaranty Association Boards). Margaret Sperry (Rhode Island) served as moderator.
  
• Legislative Activities on Issues Important to GAs, with Jack Falkenbach (Executive Director of the Delaware guaranty association) addressing the status of states adopting the revised NAIC GA Model Act and Elizabeth Kelleher Dwyer (Superintendent of Insurance, Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation), Patrick Reeder (Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, ACLI), and Franklin O’Loughlin (Partner, Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP) addressing corporate division and business transfer legislation.
  
• Issues Surrounding Big Data & InsurTech by Jeremiah Posedel, CIPP (Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP).

In addition to the task force reports below, the MPC General Session featured an update on the activities of the Security Advisory Committee by Co-Chair Candie Kinch (Idaho, Oregon, and Wyoming). NOLHGA President Peter Gallanis provided the President’s Report, and MPC Chair Tom Sullivan briefed attendees on MPC Executive Committee activity. Mr. Sullivan also announced the formation of a Monitoring Group that will analyze specific developments in the long-term-care insurance market and their potential impact on the guaranty system. In addition, Mr. Sullivan acknowledged the significant contributions of retiring guaranty association Executive Directors Jerry Backhaus (Minnesota) and Lowell Miller (North Carolina).

  Staff Contact - Sean McKenna AF&L/Senior American Insurance Companies (Pennsylvania)

Task Force Chair Bart Boles (Texas) provided an update on these two long-term-care companies, which have been in runoff since 2005. A liquidation hearing for Senior American is scheduled for June 2019, but it is possible that a decision on the company being placed in liquidation could be reached before that date.

Task Force Chair - Bart Boles;   Staff Contact - Joanna Akiyama Executive Life Insurance Company of New York/GABC

Task Force Chair Jack Falkenbach (Delaware) and Legal Counsel Kevin Griffith (Faegre Baker Daniels) reviewed GABC’s 2018 financials and the company’s plans for 2019.

Task Force Chair - Jack Falkenbach;   Staff Contact - North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company (North Carolina)

Task Force Chair Peggy Parker (Virginia) reviewed the status of the company, which was placed in rehabilitation in late 2018. The Rehabilitation Order was initially confidential; however, the confidentiality was lifted in February 2019.

Task Force Chair – Peggy Parker;   Staff Contact - Northwestern National Insurance Company of Milwaukee (Wisconsin)

Task Force Chair Todd Thakar (California) reported that Northwestern National was a property and casualty company that also wrote accident and health business. Though the company stopped writing A&H business in 1975, some of the policies are still in force. The task force plans to enter into a TPA agreement with the company so it can continue to administer the policies covered by affected guaranty associations.

Task Force Chair – Todd Thakar;   Staff Contact - Paul Peterson

New Address for Minnesota GA

The Minnesota Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association, which recently named Pamela Olsen as its new Executive Director, has a new address. The association can now be reached at:

Minnesota Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association
90 South Seventh Street
3300 Wells Fargo Center
Minneapolis, MN 55402
612.322.8713
FAX: 402.474.5393

  Staff Contact - Sean McKenna