Ann Young Black

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 is the financial services regulatory practice group leader.

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 Insuretech 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 some products as securities. She also advises clients as to their development or use of hedge funds within insurance products. Ann counsels financial service clients on the federal and state securities and insurance regulations governing sales, marketing, and distribution of various financial products.

More recently, she has been guiding financial service clients on the impact of proposed and adopted federal and state regulation with respect to the duty of care, including the Department of Labor’s amendment to the definition of fiduciary and related exemptions with respect to the distribution of variable and fixed annuity products to fund retirement plans and individual retirement accounts. To the extent that the distribution arrangements require new business relationships, she advises clients on the contractual issues.

She also provides guidance on federal and state securities issues and insurance regulations regarding litigation and risk counseling matters and matters involving state insurance market conduct exams, regulatory investigations, and regulatory proceedings. This includes advising clients on 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.