Login/out | Register | contact@cefli.org

Compliance & Ethics Tools

CEFLI’s additional website resources cover a diverse array of compliance and ethics-related topics, including:

CEFLI Advertising Review Networking Forum

  • Individuals with advertising and social media responsiblties at a life insurance company may be interested in joining CEFLI’s Advertising Review Networking Forum.  The Forum meets quarterly to discuss current compliance challenges related to advertising and social media regulatatory requirements and internal processes and controls. More information regarding the Forum is linked here.

Past CEFLI Presentations

Recent or upcoming CEFLI presentations on the subject of Advertising and Social Media include:

To assist member companies with their implementation efforts related to state adoptions of the revised NAIC Suitability in Annuity Transactions Model Regulation, CEFLI has developed a few summary and checklist documents.

Compliance Oversight Guide (Checklist):

Implementation Materials:

Presentations:

Related Materials:

  1.  NAIC Model Regulation materials published by the NAIC located on the NAIC Resources page
  2.  SEC Regulation Best Interest materials published by the SEC and FINRA included below in the SEC Regulation Best Interest and Form CRS Resources section

SEC Regulation Best Interest

SEC Form CRS

Replacements

  • Replacements (A presentation conducted during the 2026 Compliance Fundamentals Training Conference)
Compliance Oversight Programs Networking Forum

Individuals responsible for carrying out elements of a compliance oversight program at a life insurance company  may be interested in joining CEFLI’s Compliance Oversight Programs Networking Forum.  The Forum meets quarterly to discuss current compliance challenges related to compliance oversight activities.  Forum discussions focus solely on compliance matters related to the internal oversight of operations (not oversight of sales activities in the field).  Discussions focus on “the second line of defense” activities that support the oversight of operations and other functions carried out by business partners in “the first line of defense.”  More information regarding the Forum is linked here.

Other Compliance Oversight Program Resources

Since Member Companies have different product offerings, distribution channels, risk tolerances, business controls, past market conduct examination experience and they are subject to the unique regulations in each state of operation, each Member Company should consider the compliance oversight elements that may be appropriate for their unique business model.  The following materials do not constitute legal advice.  Questions or comments regarding the materials may be directed to: CarlaStrauch@CEFLI.org.

NAIC Market Regulation Examination Standards Summary and Handbook
Compliance Business Review Program
  • This Compliance Business Review Program resource offers a comprehensive summary of one CEFLI Member Company’s approach to compliance oversight.  The PDF document begins with a summary of the Company’s compliance oversight review process followed by supporting documents and helpful templates.  The supporting materials include a program workflow diagram, a program workflow job aid, a testing sample job aid, an example of a risk-based review memo, an example of an information request, several TPA review resources and an example of a review summary report.
Compliance Oversight Guides

CEFLI’s Compliance Oversight Guides are based on NAIC Model Regulation requirements.

Compliance Risk Assessment Presentation
  • Linked here is an example of a CEFLI Member Company’s Risk Assessment presentation.
MCAS Scorecard Data for Benchmarking
  • Linked here is an annotated version of a portion of the MCAS Benchmarking resource.  The resource supports the benchmarking of company experience against industry data for 22 MCAS ratios to quickly identify outliers. Use the link above to view an annotated excerpt of the spreadsheet. To obtain an Excel version of the Member Resource, please email carlastrauch@cefli.org.
Quality Assurance and Monitoring Report
Replacements – NAIC Model Regulation

Individuals with compliance training responsibilities may join a compliance training networking group managed by Ms. Erica Murphy of Protective Life.  While the group is not run by CEFLI, as “The Forum that Connects,” CEFLI supports Ms. Murphy’s efforts to engage in discussions that advance the work of individuals responsible for carrying out compliance training activities within their respective organizations.  The networking group was established in the summer of 2025.

For more information about the group, please email Erica.Murphy@Protective.com.

  • The DOJ updated its Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy (CEP) on March 10, 2026.  A link to the press release and policy is provided here.
  • The Federal Sentencing Guideline Manual is linked here.  (November 1, 2025)
  • The “Principles of Federal Prosecution of Business Organizations” in the DOJ manual describes specific factors prosecutors should consider in conducting an investigation of a corporation, determining whether to bring charges, and negotiating plea or other agreements.  These factors include “the adequacy and effectiveness of a corporation’s compliance program…”.  (September 2024)
  • A copy of the DOJ’s Criminal Division Corporate Enforcement Policy can be downloaded from the DOJ’s website using this link
  • On January 17th, 2023 Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite delivered remarks on revisions to the Criminal Division’s Corporate Enforcement Policy.  A copy of his remarks are linked here.
  • In January of 2023 CEFLI Affiliate Member Faegre Drinker delivered a presentation which offered an overview of the DOJ’s enforcement policy.  A copy of the presentation is linked here.
  • On September 15, 2022 the US Department of Justice (DOJ) published a new memo entitled “Further Revisions to Corporate Criminal Enforcement Policies Following Discussion with Corporate Crime Advisory Group.”  The Memo is the work product of the DOJ’s Corporate Crime Advisory Group, and it outlines the DOJ’s efforts to give more credit to companies that self-report, cooperate and remediate any wrongdoing.

CEFLI’s annual Compliance & Ethics Benchmarking Survey contains several ethics-related questions regarding company structures for ethics functions, staffing approaches and the many ways that CEFLI Member Companies promote ethics within their organizations.  A link to recent benchmarking reports can be found on this page.

Fraud & AML Networking Forum: CEFLI’s Fraud & AML Networking Forum meets quarterly to discuss current compliance challenges related to fraud and anti-money laundering.  Participation is limited to CEFLI Member Company staff.  Meetings are 60-90 minutes in duration.  More information regarding the Forum can be found here.

CEFLI Webinar Resources

CEFLI Conference Resources

CEFLI and NAIC Fraud Prevention Resources

External Reports and Surveys

Guide to Outsmarting Scammers and Florida Insurance Fraud Guide

FBI Frauds & Scams resource page here

FINRA Fraud Resources Below are a few of the many fraud resources FINRA offers on FINRA.org

North American Securities Administration Association (NASAA) Fraud Center Page

AARP Money: Scams & Fraud

Department of Justice National Elder Fraud Hotline

CEFLI recognizes that some Member companies may struggle with their approach for onboarding new Directors to their organization’s Board of Directors.  To help Member companies in this area, CEFLI has created the templates below which may be customized by the insurance company and utilized for their specific new Director training needs.  Linked below are PDFs of the two versions of the training resource.  To obtain an editable PowerPoint of the resource, please email carlastrauch@cefli.org.

NOTE: Illinois domestic Fraternal Benefit Societies should be aware that 215 ILCS 5/286.1(c)(4) mandates that each newly elected Director participate in a Board training or an orientation program within six (6) months of their election.  Such training must include information regarding Board duties and responsibilities.

CEFLI Affiliate Member Deloitte’s 2026 Global Insurance Outlook report is included here.

CEFLI Affiliate Member Deloitte’s 2025 Insurance Regulatory Outlook report is included here.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) makes numerous resources available to state insurance department regulators, the public, and to insurance companies.  Included below are several NAIC resources that may be of interest or may be helpful to CEFLI member companies.  For more information about the NAIC, its publication offerings or its operations, please refer to www.naic.org.

NAIC Suitability in Annuity Transactions Resources (2020 Revised Model Regulation)

NAIC Replacement Regulation and CEFLI-Developed Flow Charts

NAIC Model Regulations

To quickly find specific NAIC Model Regulations on the NAIC’s website, you can search by topic.  It may also be helpful to know that most Model Regulations include an adoption chart at the end of the model, which lists specific citations for state rules and regulations related to the subject of the respective Model Regulation.

NAIC Life and Annuity Buyer’s Guides*

Links to the current NAIC life insurance and annuity Buyer’s Guides are included here:

Fingerprint and Biographical Affidavit Requirements

The NAIC maintains a reference document summarizing fingerprint and biographical affidavit requirements.  The document addresses requirements for new licensure and it also summarizes the requirements when there is a change in the company’s key Officers, Directors or Key Managerial Personnel.  The resource can be found on this page.

Market Regulation Handbook and Examination Standards Summary

The Market Regulation Handbook may be the most comprehensive resource regarding market conduct examinations.  The 2025 Handbook (over 1,200 pages) is linked here.   The NAIC’s 2025 Market Regulation Handbook Examination Standards Summary may also be a helpful resource.

NAIC Directories

Select links to directories with state Insurance Department information (i.e., Commission list and select staff names, titles and contact information) are included below:

NAIC’s Insurance Department Resources Report

The Insurance Department Resources Report provides key statistics related to the resources and regulatory activities of the NAIC’s members.  Volume I features State Department of Insurance (DOI) budget, funding, revenue, staffing, examination counts, domestic carrier counts, and producer counts.  Volume II focuses on premium data and ratios related to budget, revenue and premium data.

NAIC’s Resource: A Regulator’s Introduction to the Insurance Industry

The NAIC created a resource document to help new regulators from outside of the insurance industry understand the business of insurance.  While “The Regulator’s Introduction to the Insurance Industry” (linked here) is a bit dated, it is exceptionally robust (266 pages) and many of the insurance fundamentals can be a resource to others unfamiliar with the insurance industry or individuals who may be looking to broaden their understanding of the business of insurance.

Soft skills are the secret sauce that turns a competent professional into someone people actually want to work with.  For business professionals and leaders, strong soft skills aren’t a nice-to-have; they are critical for driving team performance and organizational success.  The linked CEFLI soft skills learning guides are perfect for just-in-time training needs while leveraging a brief and efficient learning approach.

From time to time, CEFLI receives questions from Members regarding potential vendor technology solutions to support complaint handling, compliance oversight tracking, AML monitoring, advertising review, regulatory change management and missing policyholder and beneficiary identification.  In some cases, companies rely on home-grown solutions.  In other cases, companies utilize tools offered by technology vendors.

Our Compliance & Ethics Benchmarking Survey asks CEFLI Member Companies to provide insight regarding their approach and the subject is periodically presented during CEFLI Committee and Forum meetings.  To the extent the information may be helpful, we developed a summary of vendors based on Member feedback.  That resource is linked here.