September 2, 2008
Hello, my name is John L. Perry and I live in Wendell, N. C. I have been in the insurance business since 1991. I began selling Fixed Index Annuities in 1998. FIA's are excellent products that give my contract holders guarantees, flexibility, tax deferral, and many other advantages. While I understand FIA's are not for everyone, these products do give my clients an opportunity for higher accumulation than traditional fixed annuities. All of the insurance companies that I represent are rated very high and they have made special efforts to make sure that these products are suitable for my customers. To the credit of the State Insurance regulators, they have come up with appropriate suitability and disclosure requirements for FIA products over the years. I do not think that the SEC needs to step in and try to stop this process. Criticisms of these products have been highly exaggerated and abuses have been largely corrected by the actions of each insurance company and the state insurance departments. For over 10 years, I have been selling these products. I treat each one of my clients as family. They completely understand the ins and outs of the FIA products that I present to them. Not one of my clients have had a complaint. While many Americans have lost money over this past year due to the plunge in the Stock Market, my clients, because of the guarantees in the FIA's that I have sold, have not lost one penny. They are very happy. The SEC proposal appears to me to be rushed for adoption. The SEC unveiled this proposal on June 25th and only allowed comments until September 10th. If adopted, this ruling will have profound effects on my livelihood as well as the insurance companies that I represent. I believe that more time is needed before this becomes law.
Thank you,
John L. Perry