A New York consumer walks into an insurer's call center, asks specifically by name for a 5-year MYGA, declines to provide suitability information, and asks to buy. The representative offers no advice and processes a self-directed sale. Under Reg 187, which statement BEST describes the producer's / insurer's posture?

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EstatePass Inc. · Accepted Answer

The transaction may proceed because Reg 187 best-interest duties attach only to a 'recommendation'; documentation must show no recommendation was made and the consumer refused suitability information — Reg 187's best-interest and suitability-information duties are triggered by a 'recommendation' to purchase, exchange, or replace an annuity or life policy. A genuine self-directed sale — where no advice is offered and the consumer refuses to provide suitability information — falls outside the recommendation scope, and the transaction may proceed under 11 NYCRR § 224.4(b). The insurer and producer must, however, document both the absence of a recommendation and the consumer's refusal. The trick is that any product comparison, suggestion of features, or steering language will convert the interaction back into a recommendation, restoring full Reg 187 obligations. Per 11 NYCRR § 224.4(b).

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