August 12, 2008
I believe that the proposal to regulate Index Annuities as a security is a huge mistake. The entire issue has been raised as a result of the amount of money that the security industry has seen being transferred out into these INSURANCE products that provide SAFETY OF THE PRINCIPAL for those NOT wanting risk. Over the last 5 years I've NEVER heard a word regarding Index Life Insurance being regulated and simply because there is'nt enough money being moved into these products to make an issue out of it.
Index Annuities are tremendous INSURANCE products that have helped millions of people avoid catastrophic loses in a market that is "regulated". These products need to be marketed properly and a very small ratio of complaints(less than 1%...according to NAIC) is not a reason to "regulate" Index Annuities.
I urge the SEC to strongly consider the real issue and NOT give into a hasty decision which would be detrimental to the 99% of the people doing the "right thing".