A bipartisan bill that would force SEC to build registration forms for non-variable annuity and life insurance products has cleared the House Financial Services Committee. 

H.R. 10234, the Consumer-Led Enhancement of Annuity and Insurance Registration or CLEAR Forms Act, was introduced on September 2 by Rep. Zach Nunn of Iowa alongside Rep. Brittany Pettersen of Colorado. The House Financial Services Committee advanced the bill on September 16. 

Here is the gap the bill is trying to close. The SEC already maintains tailored registration forms for variable annuities and variable life insurance. No equivalent exists for their non-variable counterparts - products like registered index-linked life insurance and contingent deferred annuities that still qualify as securities and must be registered, but do not fit neatly into the existing framework. 

The CLEAR Forms Act would amend the Securities Act of 1933 by adding a new Section 6A. It would direct the SEC to establish one or more registration forms for what the bill defines as "covered insurance contracts" - a category covering registered index-linked life insurance, contingent deferred annuities, and other registered non-variable insurance contracts. All three share a common profile: insurance products that are securities, issued by insurance companies rather than investment companies. 

The bill would give the SEC 12 months from enactment to propose rules and 30 months to finalize them. 

Form design would come with conditions. The SEC would need to ensure purchasers receive enough information to make what the bill calls "knowledgeable decisions," weighing factors including product complexity, disclosure length, and buyer sophistication. For contingent deferred annuities - where an insurer guarantees lifetime income payments tied to designated investments it does not own - the agency would also need to conduct investor testing and incorporate the results into form design. 

The bill would also cap how far the SEC could reach. Insurer disclosures would be limited to those already required under the existing variable product registration forms referenced in 17 CFR 239.17b and 239.17c. Financial statement requirements would track the same framework. Access to the Rule 12h-7 reporting exemption for qualifying issuers would be preserved. 

A fallback provision adds teeth to the timeline. If the SEC has not finalized its rules within 30 months, issuers of registered index-linked life insurance and contingent deferred annuities would automatically be permitted to register on the existing variable product forms until the agency catches up. 

The legislation would not preempt state or territory insurance laws. 

For compliance and product teams at life insurers and annuity carriers, the bill would carve out a regulatory path that treats non-variable registered products on their own terms rather than routing them through a framework designed for variable contracts. 

H.R. 10234 has cleared the House Financial Services Committee and awaits further action. 

The CLEAR Forms Act has not been enacted. Its provisions are subject to amendment and further legislative proceedings.