Update on Year-End Processing for Care Solutions Applications, Including Washington State Business
As the end of the year approaches, we want to update you on our progress in responding to the significant influx of new business OneAmerica® received, driven in part by pricing and regulatory changes.
We understand the impact that continued processing delays have on your business and in serving the needs of your clients. Our goal is to be transparent in our approach to addressing these challenges and set clear expectations about the experience you and your clients will have in the coming months.
All submitted business is important to us. As we prioritize applications to most efficiently work through them, our New Business and Underwriting teams are currently focused on processing applications received prior to the pricing changes on our Asset Care product line that were announced on Aug. 25. Our focus will then shift to applications received for our new, repriced Asset Care products. These cases will be processed in the order in which they were received.
What you can expect for applications submitted on or prior to Sept. 24, 2021
- To remain compliant with the new 7702 federal tax code requirements, applications submitted with pre-7702 pricing changes for Asset Care products can no longer be offered in 2022. Our goal is to issue as many cases as possible before year-end.
- If processing extends into early January, backdating will be required to put the coverage in force. IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING QUALIFIED FUNDS AND 1099s: A 2021 1099 will NOT be issued for those policies issued in 2022 but backdated to 2021. Instead, the 2022 1099 will be reflective of distributions for both 2021 and 2022, as a result of the backdating.
- At this time, we expect these remaining cases will be issued in January and early February.
- For applications submitted in the state of Washington: Based on the state’s timeline, the deadline to have coverage in force was Nov. 1, 2021. We’re evaluating the remaining volume of business currently in-house to determine how best to proceed. We’ll send a separate communication to those affected that outlines our decision.
What you can expect for applications submitted on or after Sept. 25, 2021
- Applications not already in process are projected to start in mid- to late- December and continue into early February.
- We anticipate that the strain on underwriters and vendors will continue through the first quarter, likely extending processing timeframes for fully underwritten cases. At this time, it’s estimated that our surplus volume should be fully processed by the end of March.
Update on Washington product availability
As previously announced, we made the decision to temporarily suspend sales of our Asset Care and Annuity Care products in Washington effective Aug. 14, 2021. We continue to monitor the evolving sales and regulatory environment, and in the near future, expect to communicate a date for the Care Solutions product portfolio sales to resume in Washington. OneAmerica remains fully committed to helping ensure that our mutual clients have access to our asset-based long-term care strategies.
We appreciate your patience and partnership as we navigate through these challenges.