By Pamela Fisher
Today’s insurance and annuity industry is demanding, fast-paced, and competitive. Compliance professionals must be able to foresee, understand, and solve problems efficiently based on a client’s unique needs and expectations. Currin Compliance Services, LLC, located at 14 Main St. in Greenwich, aims to provide the very best compliance consulting to the life insurance industry, insurance companies, independent marketing organizations and insurance agents.
Cailie A. Currin, President and CEO, started the business in 2007 after many years working in the insurance industry. Currin was a regulator at the New York State Insurance Department (now Department of Financial Services) and worked at a major life insurance company as well as in private law firms representing life insurance companies on a variety of issues.
“My decision to start my own business was really a work-life balance issue,” stated Currin, who had been commuting an hour each day from Greenwich to Albany, while juggling parenting responsibilities.
When Currin Compliance Services initially formed, it was organized as a law firm. “But within a few months it became clear that the work I was doing was more consulting than true legal work and so I started Currin Compliance Services to more accurately reflect what we were providing for our clients.”
Today, Currin reports her clients are located throughout the country and range from small independent insurance offices to large life insurance companies that are part of multinational holding company structures. Her business has two divisions, the Corporate and Product Compliance Department and the Advertising and Producer Compliance Department, each of which caters to the specific needs of the market.
“Different types of life insurance industry clients have different needs for compliance consulting,” stated Currin. “For insurers, we most often provide assistance in reviewing policy forms for compliance with the laws and regulations of New York and any other jurisdictions in which they want to sell a product. We also do the actual filings with the New York Department of Financial Services in Albany, and any other states, which is a required step before life insurance and annuity products can be sold. Insurance companies are subject to periodic market conduct examinations by state regulators and we help our clients prepare for those by reviewing their policies and procedures, and then we work with them to respond to any issues raised by regulators in reviewing market activities.”
For independent marketing organizations, Currin stated her business provides comprehensive outsourced compliance. Currin added that these organizations, unlike life insurance companies, rarely have in-house compliance departments. CCS can assist marketing organizations by drafting policies and procedures, compliance manuals and operational guidance, as well as review existing documents.
“We do onsite compliance evaluations and make recommendations for changes to practices for increased compliance,” stated Currin. “We help them to bring their insurance side up to compliance. We review materials these organizations prepare to recruit insurance producers and use to train them in insurance sales. Our compliance analysts make recommendations on how the sales systems they market can be improved from a compliance perspective.”
For insurance producers, CCS provides similar services, but on a scale suitable for smaller businesses.
“Many producers struggle to keep up with changing regulatory requirements, and we offer consultations and reviews of their processes to make sure that they are in compliance with those mandates, and are maintaining the required information in their files to meet regulatory requirements, such as documentation of the suitability of the product sold for the individual purchasing an annuity.”
CCS attributes its success to a variety of factors, including building positive relationships with clients by being accessible and maintaining direct and open communication. CCS also prides itself on technological proficiency; in addition to using advanced office technology, CCS shares industry information in a blog, actively uses social media, and offers a wide variety of technology to assist clients, such as client-only areas on the business website. The professionals of CCS also regularly attend industry events, applicable trainings, and certification programs to stay current with the rapidly changing insurance industry.
Currin stated of her staff: “We have a fantastic group of dedicated and talented people working here who make me proud every day – I can’t ask for more than that!”
Currin currently serves as the President of the New England Chapter of the Association of Insurance Compliance Professionals, and will be speaking on new annuity disclosure regulations at an upcoming national conference in San Antonio at the end of September. Sarah Huffer, Director of the Corporate and Product Compliance Department is the Treasurer of the New England Chapter of AICP and will also be attending. Suzanne Seay, Compliance Analyst, will be attending the Life and Health Compliance Association (LHCA) meeting in Little Rock, Arkansas in October.
“We hosted a meeting of LHCA at the Gideon Putnam in April 2011,” stated Currin, “We are in the early stages of planning another event that we hope to host locally in late 2013 or early 2014.”
For more information about Currin Compliance Services, LLC, visit www.currincompliance.com, or call 692-2494.