Oregon Annuity Best Interest Requirement

January 1, 2024 Annuities, Oregon

Oregon has adopted the new Annuity Best Interest training requirement. Effective January 1, 2024, Oregon SB 536 (2023) – Sales of Annuities – Insurance producer training includes the “Best Interest Standards” training requirement. Licensed insurance producers who hold a life insurance line of authority in Oregon and want to sell annuities on or after January 1, 2024, must take an Annuity Best Interest (Annuity BI) certification course offered by an approved continuing education provider. Training courses must now include the adopted NAIC’s 2020 Model Law #275 best-interest standards, which among other changes, outline the requirement for producers to act in the best interest of the consumer at the time the annuity recommendation is made.

Required Training

The topics that must be part of the training course are set out in the regulation and shall include information on:

  • Types and classifications of annuities;
  • How to identify parties to an annuity;
  • How contract provisions for specific annuities affect purchasers;
  • Income taxation of qualified and nonqualified annuities;
  • Primary uses for annuities; and
  • Appropriate standards of conduct, sales practices, disclosure requirements and what to be aware of when replacing an existing annuity.

New Oregon Training Requirement

Producers who previously completed the 4-hour, annuity suitability training prior to January 1, 2024, will have until June 30, 2024, to complete a new 1-hour, Best Interest course.

After June 30, 2024 , producers planning to sell annuities will have to complete the updated 4-hour training course.

Previously approved courses meeting the NAIC 2010 Suitability Model Act offered by providers will be made inactive if they do not already include the Best Interest Standards training requirement. Producers should make sure any training they complete meets the new requirement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who needs to complete the new training?

All producers who engage in the sale of annuities in the state of Oregon, including those registered with FINRA, must complete the training required by the revised model.

When is the training due for producers already certified to selel anuity products in Oregon?

Licensed producers who were already selling annuity products prior to January 1, 2024 and who already took an Annuity Suitability program (those who are currently certified to sell annuities in Oregon) need to complete either:

1-Hour Annuity Best Interest course by June 30, 2024

OR

4-Hour Annuity Best Interest course after June 30, 2024 and before the sale, solicitation or negotiation of an annuity product in Oregon.

When is the training due for producers NOT already certified to sell annuity products in Oregon?

A producer may not make a recommendation of or sell an annuity until after completing the required training course. A producer who was NOT engaged in the sale of annuity products and holds a producer license issued prior to January 1, 2024 must complete the required 4 hour training prior to selling annuities.

When is the training due for NEW producers who want to sell annuity products in Oregon?

Any producer licensed after January 1, 2024 who wishes to engage in the sale of annuities in Oregon must complete the required 4 hours of training before the sale, solicitation or negotiation of an annuity product in Oregon.

What if a producer does not complete the required training?

Any producer failing to complete the training by their required deadline must immediately cease selling annuities until the training is completed.

Will a producer get CE credit for taking the new annuity best interest training?

Yes, courses must be taken through an approved continuing education provider. The course approval should indicate a course category of “Annuity”. These courses are approved for insurance continuing education towards your license renewal and it is the education providers responsibility to post these credits to your transcript. InsuranceStudy intends to have both courses available in our catalog at https://www.insurancestudy.com/courses/oregon-insurance-continuing-education. Courses will be available upon approval by the Oregon Department of Cponsumer and Business Services.

How does a producer show that they have met the new annuity best interest training requirement?

The producer may be asked by the insurer to provide a certificate of completion of the training course in order to satisfy the insurer’s responsibility under the Regulation. Certificates of Completion are provided by InsuranceStudy at the completion of your course and can be downloaded at any time from your course dashboard. Additionally, InsuranceStudy is an approved ClearCert provider and all course completions will be reported to ClearCert so that carriers may verify a producer’s certification status at any time. It is the insurer’s responsibility to verify that the producer has completed the training.