ENTITLED An Act to enact the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Compact.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of South Dakota:

Section 1. That a NEW SECTION be added to title 58:

The state of South Dakota hereby enacts the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Compact:

Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Compact

Article I. Purposes

The purposes of this compact are, through means of joint and cooperative action among the compacting states:

(1) To promote and protect the interest of consumers of individual and group annuity, life insurance, disability income and long-term care insurance products;

(2) To develop uniform standards for insurance products covered under the compact;

(3) To establish a central clearinghouse to receive and provide prompt review of insurance products covered under the compact and, in certain cases, advertisements related thereto, submitted by insurers authorized to do business in one or more compacting states;

(4) To give appropriate regulatory approval to those product filings and advertisements satisfying the applicable uniform standard;

(5) To improve coordination of regulatory resources and expertise between state insurance departments regarding the setting of uniform standards and review of insurance products covered under the compact;

(6) To create the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission; and

(7) To perform these and such other related functions as may be consistent with the state regulation of the business of insurance.

Article II. Definitions

For the purposes of this compact:

(1) "Advertisement" means any material designed to create public interest in a product or induce the public to purchase, increase, modify, reinstate, borrow on, surrender, replace, or retain a policy as more specifically defined in the rules and operating procedures of the commission;

(2) "Bylaws" mean those bylaws established by the commission for its governance or for directing or controlling the commission's actions or conduct;

(3) "Commission" means the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission established by this compact;

(4) "Commissioner" means the chief insurance regulatory official of a state including, but not limited to commissioner, superintendent, director, or administrator;

(5) "Compacting state" means any state which has enacted this compact legislation and which has not withdrawn pursuant to article XIV, section 1, or been terminated pursuant to article XIV, section 2;

(6) "Domiciliary state" means the state in which an insurer is incorporated or organized; or, in the case of an alien insurer, its state of entry;

(7) "Insurer" means any entity licensed by a state to issue contracts of insurance for any of the lines of insurance covered by this Act;

(8) "Member" means the person chosen by a compacting state as its representative to the commission, or his or her designee;

(9) "Non-compacting state" means any state which is not at the time a compacting state;

(10) "Operating procedures" mean procedures promulgated by the commission implementing a rule, uniform standard, or a provision of this compact;

(11) "Product" means the form of a policy or contract, including any application, endorsement, or related form which is attached to and made a part of the policy or contract, and any evidence of coverage or certificate, for an individual or group annuity, life insurance, disability income or long-term care insurance product that an insurer is authorized to issue;

(12) "Rule" means a statement of general or particular applicability and future effect promulgated by the commission, including a uniform standard developed pursuant to article VII of this compact, designed to implement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy or describing the organization, procedure, or practice requirements of the commission, which shall have the force and effect of law in the compacting states;

(13) "State" means any state, district, or territory of the United States of America;

(14) "Third-party filer" means an entity that submits a product filing to the commission on behalf of an insurer; and

(15) "Uniform standard" means a standard adopted by the commission for a product line, pursuant to article VII of this compact, and shall include all of the product requirements in aggregate; provided, that each uniform standard shall be construed, whether express or implied, to prohibit the use of any inconsistent, misleading, or ambiguous provisions in a product and the form of the product made available to the public shall not be unfair, inequitable, or against public policy as determined by the commission.

Article III. Establishment of the Commission and Venue

(1) The compacting states hereby create and establish a joint public agency known as the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission. Pursuant to article IV, the commission will have the power to develop uniform standards for product lines, receive and provide prompt review of products filed therewith, and give approval to those product filings satisfying applicable uniform standards; provided, it is not intended for the commission to be the exclusive entity for receipt and review of insurance product filings. Nothing herein shall prohibit any insurer from filing its product in any state wherein the Insurer is licensed to conduct the business of insurance; and any such filing shall be subject to the laws of the state where filed.

(2) The commission is a body corporate and politic, and an instrumentality of the compacting states.

(3) The commission is solely responsible for its liabilities except as otherwise specifically provided in this compact.

(4) Venue is proper and judicial proceedings by or against the commission shall be brought solely and exclusively in a court of competent jurisdiction where the principal office of the commission is located.

Article IV. Powers of the Commission

The commission shall have the following powers:

(1) To promulgate rules, pursuant to article VII of this compact, which shall have the force and effect of law and shall be binding in the compacting states to the extent and in the manner provided in this compact;

(2) To exercise its rule-making authority and establish reasonable uniform standards for products covered under the compact, and advertisement related thereto, which shall have the force and effect of law and shall be binding in the compacting states, but only for those products filed with the commission, provided that a compacting state shall have the right to opt out of such uniform standard pursuant to article VII, to the extent and in the manner provided in this compact, and, provided further, that any uniform standard established by the commission for long-term care insurance products may provide the same or greater protections for consumers as, but shall not provide less than, those protections set forth in the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' Long-Term Care Insurance Model Act and Long-Term Care Insurance Model Regulation, respectively, adopted as of 2001. The commission shall consider whether any subsequent amendments to the NAIC Long-Term Care Insurance Model Act or Long-Term Care Insurance Model Regulation adopted by the NAIC require amending of the uniform standards established by the commission for long-term care insurance products;

(3) To receive and review in an expeditious manner products filed with the commission, rate filings for disability income and long-term care insurance products, and give approval of those products and rate filings that satisfy the applicable uniform standard, where such approval shall have the force and effect of law and be binding on the compacting states to the extent and in the manner provided in the compact;

(4) To receive and review in an expeditious manner advertisement relating to long-term care insurance products for which uniform standards have been adopted by the commission and give approval to all advertisement that satisfies the applicable uniform standard. For any product covered under this compact, other than long-term care insurance products, the commission shall have the authority to require an insurer to submit all or any part of its advertisement with respect to that product for review or approval prior to use, if the commission determines that the nature of the product is such that an advertisement of the product could have the capacity or tendency to mislead the public. The actions of the commission as provided in this section shall have the force and effect of law and shall be binding in the compacting states to the extent and in the manner provided in the compact;

(5) To exercise its rule-making authority and designate products and advertisement that may be subject to a self-certification process without the need for prior approval by the commission;

(6) To promulgate operating procedures, pursuant to article VII of this compact, which shall be binding in the compacting states to the extent and in the manner provided in this compact;

(7) To bring and prosecute legal proceedings or actions in its name as the commission; provided, that the standing of any state insurance department to sue or be sued under applicable law shall not be affected;

(8) To issue subpoenas requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of evidence;

(9) To establish and maintain offices;

(10) To purchase and maintain insurance and bonds;

(11) To borrow, accept, or contract for services of personnel, including, but not limited to, employees of a compacting state;

(12) To hire employees, professionals, or specialists, and elect or appoint officers, and to fix their compensation, define their duties and give them appropriate authority to carry out the purposes of the compact, and determine their qualifications; and to establish the commission's personnel policies and programs relating to, among other things, conflicts of interest, rates of compensation, and qualifications of personnel;

(13) To accept any and all appropriate donations and grants of money, equipment, supplies, materials, and services and to receive, utilize, and dispose of the same, provided that at all times the commission shall strive to avoid any appearance of impropriety;

(14) To lease, purchase, accept appropriate gifts or donations of, or otherwise to own, hold, improve, or use any property, real, personal, or mixed, provided that at all times the commission shall strive to avoid any appearance of impropriety;

(15) To sell, convey, mortgage, pledge, lease, exchange, abandon, or otherwise dispose of any property, real, personal, or mixed;

(16) To remit filing fees to compacting states as may be set forth in the bylaws, rules, or operating procedures;

(17) To enforce compliance by compacting states with rules, uniform standards, operating procedures, and bylaws;