Senate approves annuity bill

Chile's senate has approved a congressional working commission report targeted to increase transparency within the country's annuities insurance market, local daily Estrategia reported. As part of the ongoing legal process, senate approval of the annuities report opens the path for a separate committee make up of senators and lower house members to iron out their differences regarding certain proposals within the new annuities bill, the paper said. Chile's securities and insurance regulator SVS, the pension regulator SAFP and the insurers' association came to a tentative agreement in August regarding the proposed reforms to the country's annuities law, local daily El Mercurio reported. The principal sticking point proved to be the government-backed proposal to limit commissions within the annuities sector to 2.5%, a measure targeted to avoid commissions rising to levels of 6% as recorded in recent years. The insurance companies are backing a project of self-regulation in this area. The bill includes measures designed to improve transparency in the trade of annuity insurance policies and to further safeguard the monetary value of pension contributions in this segment, the paper added.