The past twelve months have marked the beginning of meaningful changes in the annuity and insurance industry business. DTCC’s 2019 initiatives in the Insurance and Retirement Services (I&RS) business demonstrate the firm’s innovation, achieved through a committed partnership with clients and the financial services industry.
Growth and Cost Savings
I&RS kicked off 2019 with the positive news of a fee reduction across multiple I&RS services, which created substantial cost savings for clients. It was also an exciting year of growth with 18 new accounts and 125 new product adoptions throughout 2019.
Insurance Information Exchange
IIEX, also referred to as “the Marketplace,” is seen as transformative by DTCC, the I&RS Executive Strategy Board and Data Advisory Council (DAC). With I&RS serving as the centralized data marketplace and transactional platform, DTCC’s goal is to support the sourcing and consumption of data – on demand – using client-facing APIs. DTCC has planned a multi-phased rollout over the next several years, with Release 1 targeted for mid-2020.
PII Effort
The removal of unnecessary Personally Identifiable Information (PII) in DTCC’s record layouts helped reduce the risk of producer PII exposure – a major, and long-overdue step for increased cybersecurity. The first phase, which rolled out in September 2019, adds optional fields to support CRD, NPN, and carrier/distributor created identifiers. Clients are now prepared for mandatory changes in the September 2020 second phase.
New York Regulation 187, Reg BI And Beyond
Another major effort underway is around New York Reg 187, which redefines the meaning of clients’ best interests for both insurance carriers and producers who sell on behalf of those carriers, for annuity and life insurance transactions. It covers the recommendations of purchases, replacements and other post-issuance (in-force) transactions. The differences in legal interpretation of the Regulation have resulted in operational roadblocks; however, DTCC continues to work with the industry, the IRI and other associations to ensure that they can provide the necessary disclosures with respect the SEC and other states’ best interest and suitability regulations.
DTCC is excited to be entering its 23rd year supporting insurance, annuities and the retirement business. For more information about these or any other I&RS initiatives, please contact your Relationship Manager.