MONTANA
Charitable Gift Annuities are regulated by the State of Montana's passage of Senate Bill (SB-143) in April, 2003 by the Montana State Legislature, and was signed by the Governor on April 24, 2003, becoming law effective that same date, April 24, 2003.
Charities must qualify for exemption from regulation as an insurance company by having been in continuous operation for at least 3 years and by having at least $300,000 in "net worth" or at least $100,000 in unrestricted cash, cash equivalents or marketable securities exclusive of the assets funding the gift annuity agreement, on the date it enters into a gift annuity agreement.
Charities must maintain a *separate* annuity fund holding at least 50% of the total initial value of all gift annuities in force at time of accepting each annuity gift..
If all the items in the two bulleted paragraphs immediately above cannot be met, then charity MUST reinsure its annuity obligation with a commercial insurance company registered to do business in Montana.
Notice to Donor: With gift annuities written after April 23, 2003, the annuity agreement shall include a notice in a separate paragraph in a type size no smaller than that used in the gift annuity agreement, stating that ...
"A qualified charitable gift annuity is not insurance under the laws of this state and is not subject to regulation by the Insurance Commissioner or protected by an insurance guaranty association."
Notice to State: A charity that issues gift annuities starting April 24, 2003, shall file a written notice with the Insurance Commissioner by the later of ninety (90) days after the effective date of this act (by 7-24-2003) or the date on which it enters into the organization's first qualified gift annuity agreement. The notice shall be signed by an officer or director of the charity, shall identify the name and address of the charity, shall certify that charity is a charitable organization and that its annuity agreements are qualified charitable gift annuities. The Montana Insurance Commission provides a "Notification" Form found on their web site (in PDF Format) at:
www.sao.state.mt.us/sao/forms/Exams/app/ApplicationQualifiedCharitableOrganizations.PDF
Charity shall notify Montana Insurance Commissioner annually of its charitable gift annuity activity by March 1 each year for the activity of the prior calendar year. Failure of charity to comply with the notice requirements can result in fines of up to $1,000 for each qualified charitable gift annuity agreement issued until it does comply.
A copy of the new Montana Charitable Gift Annuity Law (SB-143) is available by clicking here.
Pending Legislation (12-20-04): New Bill (LD-160) has been filed with Montana Legislature. Bill is pending, not yet law. Changes timing of notice to state from within 90 days of first gift to BEFORE accepting first gift. (To see details: Click here)
State Contact
John Morrison
Commissioner of Insurance
Montana Dept. of Insurance
840 Helena Avenue
Helena, MT 59604Christina Goe, Staff Attorney
(406) 444-1942
This page updated April 18, 2005.
The user of this information is solely responsible for determining and verifying the accuracy of the data presented here and how it is used by the reader. This information is provided solely as a resource.
Click here to see the Master Set of 6 Gift Annuity Agreements (offered by Planned Giving Resources, Inc.) that will work in all 50 states (with the addition of the "Extra Wording" state specific "disclosure language" that is now required by 30 states.) |