Ann Young Black counsels financial services clients on a broad range of insurance, securities, and business issues. She regularly advises clients developing new and innovative life and annuity products and on the insurance and securities issues impacting those products. Ann also advises clients on the laws and regulations regarding the sale, distribution, issuance, administration and operation of, and benefit payment practices related to, these products. Clients also seek Ann's guidance on InsurTech initiatives, including the use of big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and tech-driven customer engagement ventures.
Many of Ann's clients develop innovative life and annuity contracts and have sought her advice on state insurance law and IIPRC requirements or limitations on the products’ innovative terms and features. She regularly reviews new product specifications and works with product actuaries on the new product’s pricing or risk mitigation features. She has advised on the status of insurance products as securities, as well as on the development or use of hedge funds within insurance products.
Ann counsels financial services clients on the federal and state securities and insurance regulations governing sales, marketing, and distribution of various insurance products. More recently, she has been guiding financial services clients on the impact of proposed and adopted federal and state regulation with respect to suitability, best interest, fiduciary duty, and generally the duty of care, with respect to the distribution of variable and fixed annuity products. To the extent that the distribution arrangements require new business relationships, she advises clients on the contractual issues.
She also provides litigation and regulatory risk counseling on federal and state securities issues and state insurance issues, as well as assisting on state insurance market conduct exams, regulatory investigations, and regulatory proceedings. This includes advising clients on litigation and regulatory risk relating to, and exams into, insurer practices with respect to suitability, replacements, marketing materials, underwriting, claims practices, unclaimed property, and retained asset accounts.
Ann also advises a wide variety of other clients on: (i) legal structure, formation, and contractual issues; and (ii) securities, insurance, and derivatives regulatory matters in a variety of transactions.
Ann is the co-leader of the Life, Annuity and Retirement Solutions Industry Group.
