PRINCIPAL UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT, is entered into on this [ ], 1999, by and among ALLSTATE LIFE
INSURANCE COMPANY OF NEW YORK, ("Allstate Life of New York" or "Company") a life
insurance company organized under the laws of the State of New York, on its own
and on behalf of the ALLSTATE LIFE OF NEW YORK SEPARATE ACCOUNT A ("Separate
Account"), a separate account established pursuant to the insurance laws of the
State of Illinois, and ALLSTATE LIFE FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC., ("Principal
Underwriter"), a corporation organized under the laws of the state of Delaware.
WITNESETH:
WHEREAS, Company proposes to issue to the public certain flexible premium
deferred variable annuity contracts identified in the Attachment A
("Contracts"); and
WHEREAS, Company, by resolution adopted on [ ] established the Separate
Account for the purpose of issuing the Contracts; and
WHEREAS, the Separate Account is registered with the Securities and
Exchange Commission ("Commission") as a unit investment trust under the
Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, ("Investment Company Act") [ File
No. ]; and
WHEREAS, the Contracts to be issued by Company are registered with the
Commission under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, ("Securities Act") and
the Investment Company Act, as amended, ("Investment Company Act"). [File Nos.:
] for offer and sale to the public and otherwise are in compliance with all
applicable laws; and
14
WHEREAS, Principal Underwriter, a broker-dealer registered under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, ("Exchange Act") and a member of
the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. ("NASD"), proposes to act
as principal underwriter on an agency (best efforts) basis in the marketing and
distribution of said Contracts; and
WHEREAS, Company desires to obtain the services of Principal Underwriter as
an underwriter and distributor of said Contracts issued by Company through the
Separate Account;
NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing, and of the mutual
covenants and conditions set forth herein, and for other good and valuable
consideration, the Company, the Separate Account, and the Principal Underwriter
hereby agree as follows:
1. AUTHORITY AND DUTIES
(a) Principal Underwriter will serve as an underwriter and distributor on
an agency basis for the Contracts which will be issued by the Company
through the Separate Account.
(b) Principal Underwriter will use its best efforts to provide information
and marketing assistance to licensed insurance agents and
broker-dealers on a continuing basis. However, Principal Underwriter
shall be responsible for compliance with the requirements of state
broker-dealer regulations and the Exchange Act as each applies to
Principal Underwriter in connection with its duties as distributor of
said Contracts. Moreover, Principal Underwriter shall conduct its
affairs in accordance and compliance with the NASD Conduct Rules.
(c) Subject to agreement with the Company, Principal Underwriter may enter
into selling agreements with broker-dealers which are registered under
the Exchange Act and/or authorized by applicable law or exemptions to
sell variable annuity contracts issued by Company through the Separate
Account. Any such contractual arrangement is expressly made subject to
this Agreement, and Principal Underwriter will at all times be
responsible to Company for supervision of compliance with the federal
securities laws regarding distribution of Contracts.
2. WARRANTIES
(a) The Company represents and warrants to Principal Underwriter that:
(i) Registration Statements [on Form ____and ____] for each of the
Contracts identified in Attachment A have been filed with the
Commission in the form previously delivered to Principal
Underwriter and that copies of any and all amendments thereto
will be forwarded to Principal Underwriter at the time that they
are filed with Commission;
(ii) The Registration Statements and any further amendments or
supplements thereto will, when they become effective, conform in
all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act
and the Investment Company Act, and the rules and regulations of
the Commission under such Acts, and will not contain any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements
therein not misleading; provided, however, that this
representation and warranty shall not apply to any statement or
omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with information
furnished in writing to Company by Principal Underwriter
expressly for use therein;
(iii)The Company is validly existing as a stock life insurance
company in good standing under the laws of the State of Illinois,
with power to own its properties and conduct its business as
described in the Prospectus, and has been duly qualified for the
transaction of business and is in good standing under the laws of
each other jurisdiction in which it owns or leases properties, or
conducts any business;
(iv) The Contracts to be issued by the Company and through the
Separate Account and offered for sale by Principal Underwriter on
behalf of the Company hereunder have been duly and validly
authorized and, when issued and delivered with payment therefore
as provided herein, will be duly and validly issued and will
conform to the description of such Contracts contained in the
Prospectuses relating thereto;
(v) Those persons who offer and sell the Contracts are to be
appropriately licensed and/or appointed to comply with the state
insurance laws;
(vi) The performance of this Agreement and the consummation of the
transactions contemplated by this Agreement will not result in a
violation of any of the provisions of or default under any
statute, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, note agreement or
other agreement or instrument to which Company is a party or by
which Company is bound (including Company's Charter or By-laws as
a stock life insurance company, or any order, rule or regulation
of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction
over Company or any of its properties);
(vii)There is no consent, approval, authorization or order of any
court or governmental agency or body required for the
consummation by Company of the transactions contemplated by this
Agreement, except such as may be required under the Exchange Act
or state insurance or securities laws in connection with the
distribution of the Contracts; and
(viii) There are no material legal or governmental proceedings pending
to which Company or the Separate Account is a party or of which
any property of Company or the Separate Account is the subject
(other than as set forth in the Prospectus relating to the
Contracts, or litigation incidental to the kind of business
conducted by the Company) which, if determined adversely to
Company, would individually or in the aggregate have a material
adverse effect on the financial position, surplus or operations
of Company.
(b) Principal Underwriter represents and warrants to Company that:
(i) It is a broker-dealer duly registered with the Commission
pursuant to the Exchange Act, is a member in good standing of the
NASD, and is in compliance with the securities laws in those
states in which it conducts business as a broker-dealer;
(ii) As a principal underwriter, it shall permit the offer and sale of
Contracts to the public only by and through persons who are
appropriately licensed under the securities laws and who are
appointed in writing by the Company to be authorized insurance
agents, unless such persons are exempt from licensing and
appointment requirements;
(iii)The performance of this Agreement and the consummation of the
transactions herein contemplated will not result in a breach or
violation of any of the terms or provisions of or constitute a
default under any statute, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust,
note agreement or other agreement or instrument to which
Principal Underwriter is a party or by which Principal
Underwriter is bound (including the Certificate of Incorporation
or By-laws of Principal Underwriter or any order, rule or
regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having
jurisdiction over either Principal Underwriter or its property);
and
(iv) To the extent that any statements made in the Registration
Statements, or any amendments or supplements thereto, are made in
reliance upon and in conformity with written information
furnished to Company by Principal Underwriter expressly for use
therein, such statements will, when they become effective or are
filed with the Commission, as the case may be, conform in all
material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and
the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and will
not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to
state any material fact required to be stated therein or
necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.
3. BOOKS AND RECORDS
(a) Principal Underwriter shall keep, in a manner and form approved by
Company and in accordance with Rules 17a-3 and 17a-4 under the
Exchange Act, correct records and books of account as required to be
maintained by a registered broker-dealer, acting as principal
underwriter, of all transactions entered into on behalf of Company
with respect to its activities under this Agreement. Principal
Underwriter shall make such records and books of account available for
inspection by the Commission, the NASD, and all other regulatory
bodies having jurisdiction, and Company shall have the right to
inspect, make copies of or take possession of such records and books
of account at any time upon demand.
(b) Subject to applicable Commission or NASD restrictions, Company will
send confirmations of Contract transactions to Contract Owners.
Company will make such confirmations and records of transactions
available to Principal Underwriter upon request. Company will also
maintain Contract Owner records on behalf of Principal Underwriter to
the extent permitted by applicable securities laws.
4. SALES MATERIALS
(a) After authorization to commence the activities contemplated herein,
Principal Underwriter will utilize the currently effective prospectus
relating to the subject Contracts in connection with its underwriting,
marketing and distribution efforts. As to other types of sales
material, Principal Underwriter hereby agrees and will require any
participating or selling broker-dealers to agree that they will use
only sales materials which have been authorized for use by Company,
which conform to the requirements of federal and state securities laws
and regulations and state insurance laws and regulations, and which
have been filed where necessary with the appropriate regulatory
authorities, including the NASD.
(b) Principal Underwriter will not distribute any prospectus, sales
literature or any other printed matter or material in the underwriting
and distribution of any Contract if, to the knowledge of Principal
Underwriter, any of the foregoing misstates the duties, obligation or
liabilities of Company or Principal Underwriter.
5. COMPENSATION
(a) Company agrees to pay Principal Underwriter for direct expenses
incurred on behalf of Company. Such direct expenses shall include, but
not be limited to, the costs of goods and services purchased from
outside vendors, travel expenses and state and federal regulatory fees
incurred on behalf of Company.
(b) Principal Underwriter shall present to Company a statement after the
end of the quarter showing the apportionment of services rendered and
the direct expenses incurred. Settlements are due and payable within
thirty days.
6. PURCHASE PAYMENTS
Principal Underwriter shall arrange that all purchase payments collected on the
sale of the Contracts are promptly and properly transmitted to Company for
immediate allocation to the Separate Account in accordance with the Investment
Company Act and rules and regulations thereunder, the procedures of Company and
the directions furnished by the purchasers of such Contracts at the time of
purchase.
7. UNDERWRITING TERMS
(a) Principal Underwriter makes no representations or warranties regarding
the number of Contracts to be sold by licensed broker-dealers and
registered representatives of broker-dealers or the amount to be paid
thereunder. Principal Underwriter does, however, represent that it
will actively engage in its duties under this Agreement on a
continuous basis while there are effective registration statements
with the Commission.
(b) Principal Underwriter will use its best efforts to ensure that the
Contracts shall be offered for sale by registered broker-dealers and
registered representatives (who also are duly licensed as insurance
agents) on the terms described in the currently effective prospectus
describing such Contracts.
(c) It is understood and agreed that Principal Underwriter may render
similar services to other companies in the distribution of other
variable contracts.
(d) The Company will use its best efforts to assure that the Contracts are
continuously registered under the Securities Act (and under any
applicable state "blue sky" laws) and to file for approval under state
insurance laws when necessary.
(e) The Company reserves the right at any time to suspend or limit the
public offering of the subject Contracts upon one day's written notice
to Principal Underwriter.
8. LEGAL AND REGULATORY ACTIONS
(a) The Company agrees to advise Principal Underwriter immediately of:
(i) any request by the Commission for amendment of the Registration
Statement or for additional information relating to the
Contracts;
(ii) the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the
effectiveness of the Registration Statement relating to the
Contracts or the initiation of any proceedings for that purpose;
and
(iii)the happening of any known material event which makes untrue any
statement made in the Registration Statement relating to the
Contracts or which requires the making of a change therein in
order to make any statement made therein not misleading.
(b) Each of the undersigned parties agrees to notify the other in writing
upon being apprised of the institution of any proceeding,
investigation or hearing involving the offer or sale of the subject
Contracts.
(c) During any legal action or inquiry, Company will furnish to Principal
Underwriter such information with respect to the Separate Account and
Contracts in such form and signed by such of its officers as Principal
Underwriter may reasonably request and will warrant that the
statements therein contained when so signed are true and correct.
9. TERMINATION
(a) This Agreement will terminate automatically upon its assignment.
(b) This Agreement shall terminate without the payment of any penalty by
either party upon sixty (60) days' advance written notice.
(c) This Agreement shall terminate at the option of the Company upon
institution of formal proceedings against Principal Underwriter by the
NASD or by the Commission, or if Principal Underwriter or any
representative thereof at any time:
(i) employs any device, scheme, artifice, statement or omission to
defraud any person;
(ii) fails to account and pay over promptly to the Company money due
it according to the Company's records; or
(iii) violates the conditions of this Agreement.
10. INDEMNIFICATION
The Company agrees to indemnify Principal Underwriter for any liability that it
may incur to a Contract owner or party-in-interest under a Contract:
(a) arising out of any act or omission in the course of or in connection
with rendering services under this Agreement; or
(b) arising out of the purchase, retention or surrender of a contract;
provided, however, that the Company will not indemnify Principal
Underwriter for any such liability that results from the willful
misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence of Principal Underwriter or
from the reckless disregard by such Principal Underwriter of its
duties and obligations arising under this Agreement.
11. GENERAL PROVISIONS
(a) This Agreement shall be subject to the laws of the State of New York.
(b) This Agreement, along with any Schedules attached hereto and
incorporated herein by reference, may be amended from time to time by
the mutual agreement and consent of the undersigned parties.
(c) In case any provision in this Agreement shall be invalid, illegal or
unenforceable, the validity, legality and enforceability of the
remaining provisions shall not in way be affected or impaired thereby.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned parties have caused this Agreement
to be duly executed, to be effective as of [ ].
ALLSTATE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF NEW YORK
(and Allstate Life of New York Separate Account A)
BY: ------------------------------------- -------------------------
President and Chief Operating Officer Date
ALLSTATE LIFE FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC.
BY: ------------------------------------- --------------------------
President and Chief Executive Officer Date
UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
Attachment A
"Contracts" Form #
-------------------------------------- -------------------