Jane Cline, Insurance Commissi

(This is not a legal transcript. Bloomberg LP cannot guarantee its accuracy.)

JANE CLINE, INSURANCE COMMISSIONER OF WEST VIRGINIA, TALKS ABOUT RETAINED ASSET ACCOUNTS ON BLOOMBERG TV

AUGUST 03, 2010

SPEAKERS:

JANE CLINE, INSURANCE COMMISSIONER OF WEST VIRGINIA

JULIE HYMAN, REPORTER, BLOOMBERG NEWS

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13:53

JULIE HYMAN, REPORTER, BLOOMBERG NEWS: Joining us now West Virginia Insurance Commissioner Jane Cline. She is also the President of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Jane, thank you so much for coming in, we appreciate it. You know, first of all, one of the things that was interesting in this story is that obviously these folks, the relatives of dead servicemen and women, didn't know this was happening. Obviously, a lot of regulators didn't know it was happening. Is this something that you were aware of as you, in your dealings with insurance companies?

JANE CLINE, INSURANCE COMMISSIONER OF WEST VIRGINIA: Well, we were aware that some companies use retained asset accounts. But I think the thing that has come to light is, there needs to be improved disclosure requirements going between the beneficiaries and making sure that the regulators understand these accounts, how they're being used. But also, most importantly, that the beneficiaries of the policyholder fully understand their options and their benefits that are available to them, at the time that they have lost a loved one.

HYMAN: And what is the role of your organization in all of this in terms of trying to encourage the insurance companies to do education?

CLINE: Well, we are, we are the insurance regulators, and so our role is to protect the insurance consumers. And we take that role very seriously. So, part of our role is obviously educating the consumer. So we will be putting out a consumer alert for individuals, so that they can review that consumer alert, know questions that they should be asking. Making sure that they understand the options available to them as they are receiving the proceeds from the life insurance policy. But it's also our responsibility to ensure that companies are complying with state laws and are treating consumers fairly. And that they are disclosing the appropriate information to consumers.

HYMAN: Are these retained asset accounts something that the NAIC already tracks, and knows how much is in them, for example?

CLINE: There are some reporting requirements. But we are going back and reviewing the reporting requirements to determine if there should be perhaps more disclosure about the type of, about the monies that companies are retaining in these accounts. And making sure that we fully understand what companies are doing, and again, our prime focus is the consumer, and making sure that the consumer is being treated fairly and that they understand the options that are available to them.

HYMAN: Now, I'm curious also, obviously you have two roles here. Sort of the national role, and the then the role that West Virginia. Do you know, especially since you have begun to hear about these stories. Do you know yet how much is in these types of accounts in your particular state?

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HYMAN: We would have to look at the financial and do more in-depth research on that. We have looked, and through our consumer services division, they have had inquiries about these types of accounts in Replica Watches
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