Bill Hager

  • A proposal to draft a universal life model bill was set forth by the advisory committee to the (A5) Universal Life Insurance Task Force.
  • The advisory committee chairman, James Jackson of Transamerica Occidental Life, indicated that the drafting of such a model bill would be contingent on the ability of the advisory committee to adopt a "workable, acceptable" definition of universal life.  (p7)

1983 02 - SOA - The Actuarial Update - (A5) Task Force Considers Universal Life Model Bill, NAIC Report, by Bill Hager, Society of Actuaries - 8p

  • Commissioner Hager of the Universal & Other Plans (A) Task Force stated that there appeared to be disclosure problems with universal life plans and that the identification of these items should be placed on the Actuarial Task Force agenda.
  • The members present agreed that the disclosure issues extended to variable life as well as universal life.
  • Dave Heineck (Wis.):
    • The main concern was that an unsophisticated buyer purchased a policy and did not know what the coverages, benefits and limitations were.
  • It was suggested that Sections 8 and 9(f) of the Universal Life Insurance Model Regulation needed considerable expansion. It was suggested that disclosure requirements be placed in the illustrations section of the models as well as in the contract itself.
  • Some of the items identified which should be disclosed:
    • (1) what is guaranteed versus what is not;
    • (2) adequate disclosure of the fact that a premium quoted will not support the contract for the whole life if the policy is a universal life policy;
    • (3) disclosure of the guaranteed surrender values on a flexible premium policy.  (p566)

1988-2, NAIC Proc.

  • 1990 - SOA - Quality of Life Insurance Sales Illustrations, Society of Actuaries - 16p
    • 1988-2, NAIC Proceedings -  6. Heard report on survey of states on identifying consumer/disclosure concerns regarding universal life, variable life and other interest sensitive products.
  • Tony Spano, ACLI: 
  • BACKGROUND
    • The policy information forms were developed by the NAIC over a period of a year and a half.
      • The impetus for the effort came from some of the state regulators, particularly William Hager, then insurance commissioner of Iowa.
      • Some of you may remember Mr. Hager from a few years back when he was general counsel of the AAA.
    • The first word about this project came at the June 1988 NAIC meeting, when a report was presented summarizing the results of a survey of the different state insurance departments on consumer disclosure concerns.
      • The report cited a number of alleged abuses regarding sales illustrations for interest-sensitive products, including the following:
      • Illustrations with "outrageous" interest rate assumptions.
      • Current rate illustrations based on a different rate than the one currently being paid.
      • Nonguaranteed elements built into the calculations. (I assume this meant that nonguaranteed items were being blended with guaranteed items in some of the calculations.)
      • Unrealistic assumptions, such as increasing interest and decreasing mortality.
      • Illustrations which include items not in the contract.
    • A regulatory working group was appointed to help remedy these abuses and enable the consumer to make more meaningful comparisons of different policies.
  • A: William Hager -  Surveys would be to determine — lets take a regulatory survey.
    • Through a regulatory survey, we could efficiently determine and get a read through the regulators in all 50 states as to whether a particular matter, particular issue was in fact a nationwide issue that merited national attention or in fact whether it was a localized issue.
  • Q. So when you say an issue, could an example of an issue be the types Of disclosures that are being made in illustrations?
  • A. Yes.
  • Q. Was that in fact one of the issues that was reviewed?
  • A. Yes. In fact, while was insurance commissioner, I oversaw a survey to that effect.
  • Q. As chair of the life insurance product development task force, you led the development of model disclosure statements for....

2003 - LC - Fay v Aetna - William Hager - Excerpt - Deposition - Doc 65 - 2p

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