Texas Insurance Department will try to implement protective provisions of annuity legislation

The Texas Department of Insurance yesterday said that it will try to implement provisions of legislation vetoed last week by Gov. Rick Perry that was designed to protect annuity customers. The bill required that carriers issue buyer’s guides for consumers who purchase annuities and called for greater disclosures of the details of products, including value reductions that may occur after a surrender or withdrawal. Mr. Perry rejected the bill, though it received unanimous approval from Texas’s Senate Committee on State Affairs. It also got “yes” votes from seven of nine members of the House Committee on Insurance. “Although the bill establishes standards of transparency and improvements that are important, I believe it will do more harm than good. This legislation designates any violation of these standards as an unfair or deceptive act or practice, which would expose agents and insurers to private claims for damages, attorney fees and costs for any such violation,” Mr. Perry wrote. It “creates greater opportunities for frivolous litigation,” he said. Mr. Perry also said that he would direct the Insurance Department to implement the provisions of the bill that are within the regulator’s authority. Efforts to do so are already under way at the insurance regulator’s office, according to department spokesman Ben Gonzalez. “The Texas Department of Insurance staff has begun to consider the intent of the bill, and the department will strive to implement the consumer protections contemplated,” he said.