Texas, Virginia and Montana are the latest states to enact legislation or rules setting forth a best interest standard for annuity producers in recommending annuities to their customers.  Each state has designed its rule to follow the NAIC’s model regulation concerning suitability in annuity transactions, which requires producers to act in the consumer’s best interest without placing the producer’s financial interest ahead of the consumer’s.  Virginia’s new rule took effect May 1, 2021, while Texas’s and Montana’s rules will take effect on September 1 and October 1, 2021, respectively.

The NAIC adopted its model suitability rule in early 2020, and since that time at least a dozen states have set forth rules modeled off the NAIC rule (and in many cases have adopted the rule wholesale).

Download a copy of our updated Best Interest and Fiduciary Developments chart.