Exhibit (8)(j)
RULE 22C-2 CUSTOMER INFORMATION AGREEMENT
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ Life Insurance Company (hereinafter referred to as
"Intermediary") and BlackRock Distributors, Inc., as principal underwriter for
the BlackRock Funds or its affiliate (collectively the, "Fund") have previously
entered into a Participation Agreement(s) to offer certain Fund(s) as investment
options under Intermediary's variable annuity and/or life insurance contracts.
This Rule 22c-2 Customer Information Agreement ("Customer Information
Agreement") describes, among other things, the rights and obligations of the
parties hereto with respect to certain customer information to be provided to
the Fund or other entity designated in writing by the Fund (collectively Fund's
"Designee"), by or on behalf of Intermediary in connection with the processing
of Intermediary's customers' purchase, redemption, transfer and exchange
transactions in accounts maintained with respect to the Fund subject to the
Participation Agreement.
Prior to the effective date of this Customer Information Agreement, the
Fund and the Intermediary agree that any request made to the Intermediary by the
Fund for Customer transaction information, and the Intermediary's response to
such request, shall be governed by the practices the Fund and the Intermediary
had utilized in the absence of a formal agreement, if any, to govern such
requests.
As used in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the following
meanings, unless a different meaning is clearly required by the contexts:
The term "Intermediary" shall mean a ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ Life Insurance Company
separate account.
The term "Fund" shall mean an open-end management investment company that
is registered or required to register under Section 8 of the Investment Company
Act of 1940 and includes (i) an investment adviser to or administrator for the
Fund; (ii) the principal underwriter or distributor for the Fund; or (iii) the
transfer agent for the Fund. The term not does include any "excepted funds" as
defined in SEC Rule 22c-2(b) under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
The term "Shares" means the interests of Customers corresponding to the
redeemable securities of record issued by the Fund under the Investment Company
Act of 1940 that are held by the Intermediary.
The term "Customer" means the holder of interests in a variable annuity or
variable life insurance contract issued by the Intermediary ("Contract"), or a
participant in an employee benefit plan with a beneficial interest in a
contract.
The term "Customer-Initiated Transfer Purchase" means a transaction that is
initiated or directed by a Customer that results in a transfer of assets within
a Contract to a Fund, but does not include transactions that are executed: (i)
automatically pursuant to a contractual or systematic program or enrollment such
as transfer of assets within a
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Contract to a Fund as a result of "dollar cost averaging" programs, insurance
company approved asset allocation programs, or automatic rebalancing programs;
(ii) pursuant to a Contract death benefit; (iii) one-time step-up in Contract
value pursuant to a Contract death benefit; (iv) allocation of assets to a Fund
through a Contract as a result of payments such as loan repayments, scheduled
contributions, retirement plan salary reduction contributions, or planned
premium payments to the Contract; or (v) pre-arranged transfers at the
conclusion of a required free look period.
The term "Customer-Initiated Transfer Redemption" means a transaction that
is initiated or directed by a Customer that results in a transfer of assets
within a Contract out of a Fund, but does not include transactions that are
executed: (i) automatically pursuant to a contractual or systematic program or
enrollments such as transfers of assets within a Contract out of a Fund as a
result of annuity payments, loans, systematic withdrawal programs, insurance
company approved asset allocation programs and automatic rebalancing programs;
(ii) as a result of any deduction of charges or fees under a Contract; (iii)
within a Contract out of a Fund as a result of scheduled withdrawals or
surrenders from a Contract; or (iv) as a result of payment of a death benefit
from a Contract.
The term "written" includes electronic writings and facsimile
transmissions.
Accordingly, in consideration of the mutual covenants herein contained,
Intermediary and the Fund, its successors, assigns and Designees intending to be
legally bound agree as follows:
1. CUSTOMER INFORMATION
(A) AGREEMENT TO PROVIDE INFORMATION. Intermediary agrees to provide the
Fund or its Designee, upon written request, the taxpayer identification number
("TIN"), the Individual/International Taxpayer Identification Number ("ITIN"),
or other government-issued identifier ("GII") and the Contract owner number or
participant account number associated with the Customer, if known, of any or all
Customer(s) of the account, the name, or other identifier of any ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
Financial Advisor associated with Customer Contract (if known) and the amount,
date, and transaction type (purchase, redemption, transfer, or exchange) of
every purchase, redemption, transfer, or exchange of Shares held through an
account maintained by the Intermediary during the period covered by the request.
Unless otherwise specifically requested by the Fund or its Designee in writing,
the Intermediary shall only be required to provide underlying Contract activity
information relating to Customer-Initiated Transfer Purchases or
Customer-Initiated Transfer Redemptions.
(B) PERIOD COVERED BY REQUEST. As mutually agreed upon by the parties, the
Fund or its Designee may request in writing transaction information as it deems
necessary to investigate compliance with policies established by the Fund for
the purpose of eliminating or reducing any dilution of the value of the
outstanding shares issued by the Fund (the "Market Timing Policies").
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(C) TIMING OF REQUESTS. The Fund's requests for Customer information shall
be made no more frequently than quarterly except as the Fund deems necessary to
investigate compliance with the Fund's Market Timing Policies. Any requests made
more frequently than quarterly shall be made in writing
(D) FORM AND TIMING OF RESPONSE.
(1) Intermediary agrees to provide, promptly upon written request of
the Fund or its designee, the requested information specified in 1(a). If such
request covers a period ninety (90) to one hundred eighty (180) days prior to
the date of the request, Intermediary agrees to use its best efforts to provide
the information specified in 1(a) within five (5) to ten (10) business days. If
Intermediary determines during the course of investigation that due to the scope
of the request, Intermediary will need additional time to provide the requested
information, Intermediary shall promptly notify the Fund. If requested by the
Fund or its Designee, Intermediary agrees to use best efforts to determine
promptly whether any specific person about whom it has received the
identification and transaction information specified in 1(a) is itself a
financial intermediary ("indirect intermediary") and, upon further written
request of the Fund or its designee, promptly either: (i) provide (or arrange to
have provided) the information set forth in 1(a) for those Customers who hold an
account with an indirect intermediary; or (ii) restrict or prohibit the indirect
intermediary from purchasing, in nominee name on behalf of other persons,
securities issued by the Fund. Intermediary additionally agrees to inform the
Fund whether it plans to perform (i) or (ii).
(2) Responses required by this paragraph must be communicated in
writing and in a format mutually agreed upon by the Fund or Fund's Designee and
the Intermediary; and
(3) To the extent practicable, the format for any transaction
information provided to the Fund should be consistent with the NSCC Standardized
Data Reporting Format.
2. LIMITATIONS ON USE OF INFORMATION. The Fund agrees not to use the information
received pursuant to this Agreement for any purpose other than as necessary to
comply with the provisions of Rule 22c-2 or to fulfill other regulatory requests
or legal requirements subject to the privacy provisions of Title V of the
▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇▇▇ Act (Public Law 106-102) and comparable state laws.
(a) The Fund acknowledges that (i) the purpose for providing Intermediary's
confidential Customer Information (as defined in 1(a)) to the Fund or its
Designee is to better enable the Fund and/or its Designee to monitor for
violations of the Fund's Market Timing Policies by Intermediary's customers, and
(ii) the Fund or its Designee is responsible for determining when Fund or its
Designee need Intermediary's assistance in monitoring and enforcing the Fund's
Market Timing Policies through a request for Customer Information pursuant to
paragraph 1 or an instruction to prohibit further purchases or exchanges
pursuant to paragraphs 5 and 6 hereunder.
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(b) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, to the extent the Fund
or its Designee receives Customer Information or any other Confidential Data (as
defined below, and together with the Customer Information hereinafter referred
to as the "Data"), the Fund covenants, represents and warrants for the Fund its
Designee and any parent, subsidiary or affiliate of either that: (i) the Fund
shall not use any Data except to the extent necessary to carry out the purpose
of this Agreement and for no other purpose (including, without limitation, any
marketing, sales or other promotional efforts by any of Fund or; (ii) Fund shall
not disclose any Data to any third party, including, without limitation,
either's third party service providers without Intermediary's prior written
consent and an agreement in writing from the third party to use or disclose such
Data only to the extent necessary to carry out the purpose of this Agreement and
for no other purposes; (iii) Fund shall maintain, and shall require all third
parties approved under clause (ii) to maintain, effective information security
measures to protect the Data from unauthorized disclosure or use; and (iv) Fund
shall provide Intermediary with information regarding such security measures
upon Intermediary's reasonable request and promptly provide Intermediary with
information regarding any failure of such security measures or any security
breach related to the Data. For the purposes of this Agreement, "Confidential
Data" means the nonpublic personal information (as defined in 15 U.S.C. Section
6809(4)) of Intermediary (and/or Intermediary's parent, affiliated or subsidiary
companies) of customers or prospective customers received by the Fund or its
Designee under the terms of this Agreement or any other agreement between
Intermediary and the Fund associated with the distribution of, or services with
respect to, the Fund, including, but not limited to: (a) an individual's name,
address, e-mail address, IP address, social security number, and/or telephone
number; (b) the fact that an individual has a relationship with Intermediary
and/or Intermediary's parent, affiliated or subsidiary companies; or (c) an
individual's other account information.
(c) The Fund explicitly acknowledges that all of the Data is Intermediary's
exclusive property and shall remain so notwithstanding any release thereof in
accordance with the terms of this Agreement.
(d) The Fund shall safeguard and preserve as confidential and not use,
except as expressly provided herein, any or all information other than the Data
provided pursuant to, or in connection with, this Agreement to the Fund or its
Designee, including, but not limited to, Intermediary's affiliate's branch
office names and identification numbers, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ Financial Advisor names
and identification numbers, as well as Intermediary's affiliate's, parent's or
subsidiary's systems, business, plans and operations, which information
collectively shall include any such information that is orally disclosed to the
Fund or its Designee, or learned by the Fund or its Designee while on
Intermediary's premises or derived as a result of, or in connection with, this
Agreement and its subject matter or any other agreement between Intermediary and
the Fund associated with the distribution of or services with respect to the
Fund.
(e) Except as expressly provided for herein, the Fund will not, without
first obtaining Intermediary's prior written consent, disclose to any person,
firm or enterprise, or use for the Fund's benefit, any Confidential Data. The
Fund and its Designee, if any, shall limit the Fund's disclosure of the
Confidential Data to as few persons as possible
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and only to those persons with a need to know that are the Fund's or its
Designee's employees or independent contractors engaged by the Fund or its
Designee and subject to an agreement to maintain the confidentiality of
information provided to such independent contractors. The Fund and its Designee,
if any, shall take all steps necessary to prevent disclosure of any Confidential
Data as the Fund would in safeguarding its own proprietary Confidential Data.
The Fund and its Designee, if any, shall have no obligation with respect to
particular information to the extent, but only to the extent, that such
information: (i) is already rightfully known to the Fund or its Designee at the
time it is obtained from Intermediary, free from any obligation to keep such
information confidential, as demonstrated by competent evidence; (ii) is or
becomes publicly known through no wrongful act of the Fund or its Designee's or
without breach of any terms and conditions of this Agreement; (iii) is
rightfully received from a third party without restriction and without breach of
any terms and conditions of this Agreement, as demonstrated by competent
evidence; or (iv) is required to be disclosed by law, regulation, or customer
order (provided that the Fund or its Designee shall promptly notify Intermediary
of any such use or requirement prior to disclosure in order to afford such
Intermediary an opportunity to seek a protective order to prevent or limit
public disclosure of the information).
(f) Upon Intermediary's request, the Fund and its Designee, if any, shall
promptly return the Confidential Data (and any copies, extracts, and summaries
thereof) to Intermediary, or, with Intermediary's written consent, shall
promptly destroy, in a manner satisfactory to Intermediary, such materials (and
any copies, extracts, and summaries thereof) and shall further provide
Intermediary with written confirmation of same.
3. REMEDIES. The Fund and its Designee acknowledge that in the event of a breach
or threatened breach of this Agreement, Intermediary may have no adequate remedy
at law, and, accordingly, shall be entitled to obtain an injunction against such
breach. However, no specification in this Agreement of a specific legal or
equitable remedy shall be construed as a waiver of or a prohibition against any
other legal or equitable remedies in the event of a breach of a provision of
this Agreement. Intermediary shall be entitled to legal damages and/or equitable
relief from the Fund as well as from its Designee for any breach of this
Agreement by the Funds Designee.
4. ADOPTION OF INTERMEDIARY'S MARKET TIMING POLICIES. If the Fund considers, at
any time, the adoption of Intermediary's or Intermediary's affiliate(s) Market
Timing Policies in lieu of the Fund's Market Timing Policies for Customers
investing through Intermediary, the Fund shall provide Intermediary written
notice of any such consideration at least 90 (ninety) days in advance of
implementing any such policy and secure Intermediary's prior written consent to
such arrangements.
5. AGREEMENT TO RESTRICT TRADING. Intermediary agrees to execute written
instructions from the Fund to restrict or prohibit further purchases or
exchanges of Shares by a Customer that has been identified by the Fund as having
engaged in transactions of the Fund's Shares (directly or indirectly through the
Intermediary's account) that violate
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policies established by the Fund for the purpose of eliminating or reducing any
dilution of the value of the outstanding Shares issued by the Fund. Unless
otherwise directed by the Fund, any such restrictions or prohibitions shall only
apply to Customer-Initiated Transfer Purchases or Customer-Initiated Transfer
Redemptions that are effected directly or indirectly through Intermediary.
Instructions shall be in writing, or an email at ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇@▇▇▇.▇▇.▇▇▇ or
facsimile at ▇▇▇-▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇ and sent to Intermediary at:
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ Insurance Group Services, Inc.
Attention: Service Center Controller
▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
with a copy to:
Financial Data Services, Inc.
Attention: President
▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
6. FORM OF INSTRUCTIONS. Instructions must include the TIN, ITIN, or GII and the
specific individual Contract owner number or participant account number
associated with the Customer, if known, and the specific restriction(s) to be
executed, including how long the restriction(s) is(are) to remain in place. If
the TIN, ITIN, GII or the specific individual Contract owner number or
participant account number associated with the Customer is not known, the
instructions must include an equivalent identifying number of the Customer(s) or
account(s) or other agreed upon information to which the instruction relates. As
mutually agreed upon by the parties hereto, the Fund agrees to provide to the
Intermediary, along with any written instructions to prohibit further purchases
or exchanges of Shares by Customer, information regarding those trades of the
contract holder that violated the Fund's policies relating to eliminating or
reducing any dilution of the value of the Fund's outstanding Shares.
7. TIMING OF RESPONSE. Intermediary agrees to execute instructions as soon as
reasonably practicable, but not later than five business days after receipt of
the instructions by the Intermediary.
8. NOTICE. All notices in connection with this Agreement, not otherwise provided
for, shall be in writing and sent to Intermediary at:
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ Insurance Group, Inc.
Attention: General Counsel
▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
Financial Data Services, Inc.
Attention: President
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▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
________________, and sent to the Fund at the address the Fund has provided at
the end of this Agreement.
Notice shall be deemed to have been given on the date it was delivered
personally to the other party or any officer or was either received by express
delivery or telecopy (with receipt) by the other party at its address specified
in this Agreement. Either party may change the address to which notices to it
shall be sent by giving notice thereof in accordance with this provision.
9. CONSTRUCTION OF THE AGREEMENT; FUND PARTICIPATION AGREEMENTS. The parties or
an affiliate have entered into one or more Fund Participation Agreements between
or among them for the purchase and redemption of shares of the Funds by the
accounts in connection with the Contracts. This Agreement supplements those Fund
Participation Agreements. To the extent the terms of this Agreement conflict
with the terms of a Fund Participation Agreement, the terms of this Agreement
shall control.
10. TERMINATION. This Agreement will terminate upon the termination of the Fund
Participation Agreements except as specifically provided in paragraph 15.
11. GOVERNING LAW. The validity of this Agreement, the construction and
enforcement of its terms, and interpretation of the rights and duties of the
parties shall be governed by the laws of the State of New York without giving
effect to provisions relating to conflict of laws.
12. NAMING OF A DESIGNEE. If the Fund desires to name an entity as a "Designee"
for the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund shall do so in writing in advance
of the provision of any Customer Information to that entity. The Fund shall be
fully responsible for the Fund's Designee's compliance with the terms and
conditions of this Agreement.
13. AMENDMENT. No modification, amendment, supplement to, or waiver of this
Agreement or any of its provisions or any schedule hereto shall be binding upon
the parties hereto unless made in writing and duly signed by the party against
whom enforcement thereof is sought. Any failure or delay to enforce at any time
any of the provisions of this Agreement, or to exercise any option which is
herein provided, or to require at any time performance of any of the provisions
hereof, shall in no way be construed to be a waiver of such provisions of this
Agreement.
14. SEVERABILITY. In the event any one or more of the provisions of this
Agreement shall for any reason be held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable,
the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall be unimpaired, and the invalid,
illegal, or unenforceable provision(s) shall be replaced by a mutually
acceptable provision(s), which being valid, legal, and enforceable, comes
closest to the intention of the parties underlying the invalid, illegal, or
unenforceable provision(s).
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15. SURVIVAL OF TERMINATION. The following paragraphs shall survive the
termination of this Agreement: 2, 3, 8, 10, 11, and this paragraph 15.
16. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Agreement shall become effective as of the later of
dates set forth below when executed by each of the parties hereto.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned has caused this Agreement to be
executed as of the date first above written.
By:
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Title:
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▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ Life Insurance Company
Firm Name: BlackRock Distributors, Inc.
By:
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Name
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Title
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Address:
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Date:
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