UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
----------------------
THIS AGREEMENT, is entered into on this day of __________________________,
1996, 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, and ALLSTATE LIFE FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC., ("Principal
Underwriter"), a corporation organized under the laws of the state of Delaware.
RECITALS
WHEREAS, Company proposes to issue to the public certain flexible premium
deferred variable annuity contracts identified in the Attachment A
("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 (File No. 811-07467); and
WHEREAS, the Contracts to be issued by Company are registered with the
Commission under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of
1940 (File No. 033-65355, 033-65381) for offer and sale to the public and
otherwise are in compliance with all applicable laws; and
WHEREAS, Principal Underwriter, a broker-dealer registered under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 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;
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.
(b) Principal Underwriter will use its best efforts to provide information
and marketing assistance to licensed insurance agents and broker-
dealers on
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a continuing basis. However, Principal Underwriter shall be
responsible for compliance with the requirements of state broker-
dealer regulations and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 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 with the rules of Fair Practice of
the NASD.
(c) Subject to agreement with the Company, Principal Underwriter may enter
into selling agreements with broker-dealers which are registered under
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and authorized by applicable law
or exemptions to sell single payment deferred annuity contracts issued
by Company. 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 S-1 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 Statement and any further amendments or
supplements thereto will, when they become effective, conform in
all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act
of 1933, 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 New York,
with power to own its properties and conduct its business as
described in the Prospectus, and has been duly qualified for the
transaction
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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) Those persons who offer and sell the Contracts are to be
appropriately licensed or appointed to comply with the state
insurance laws;
(v) 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);
(vi) 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
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or state insurance or
securities laws in connection with the distribution of the
Contracts; and
(vii)There are no material legal or governmental proceedings pending
to which Company is a party or of which any property of Company
is the subject (other than as set forth in the Prospectus
relating to the Contracts, or litigation incident 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 Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 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;
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(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;
(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
Statement, or any amendment or supplement 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 of
1933 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
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 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, 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.
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(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.
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 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
------------
Principal Underwriter shall be entitled to such remuneration for its services
and reimbursement for its fees, charges and expenses as will be contained in
such Schedules as attached hereto as Attachment B. Said Schedules may be amended
from time to time at the mutual consent of the undersigned parties.
6. 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 is an effective registration statement
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
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registered representatives (who 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 of 1933 (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.
7. 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 the 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.
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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 ILLINOIS.
(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.
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(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 ____________________________, 1996.
ALLSTATE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF NEW YORK
BY:
---------------------------- ------------------------------
President Date
ALLSTATE LIFE FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC.
BY:
---------------------------- ------------------------------
President & COO Date
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Attachment A
UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
----------------------
"CONTRACTS" FORM #
------------ ------
Flexible Premium Deferred Variable Annuity Group Certificate NYLU349
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Attachment B
UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
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COMPENSATION
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