Before an insurance company may deliver variable life insurance or variable annuity contracts in Hawaii,...

C. Life insurance or annuity business is correct. Hawaiʻi specifically regulates variable contracts under HRS §431:10D-118. The statute provides that a company may not deliver or issue variable contracts for delivery within Hawaiʻi unless it is licensed or organized to conduct life insurance or annuity business in the State and the Insurance Commissioner is satisfied that its financial condition and operating methods do not create a hazard to the public or policyholders.

In evaluating the insurer, the Commissioner may consider factors including the company's financial condition and history, the character and fitness of its officers and directors, and the regulatory law under which the insurer is authorized to issue variable contracts in its state of domicile.

Although variable contracts contain an investment component, they remain fundamentally life insurance or annuity contracts . Their securities characteristics create additional regulatory obligations, but they do not transform the products into property, casualty, or title insurance.

Hawaiʻi's current licensing application likewise identifies Variable Life and Variable Annuity as a specific producer line of authority associated with life insurance products.

Reference topics: HRS §431:10D-118; Variable Contracts; Insurer Authorization; Life and Annuity Business.

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