WASHINGTON--Charles Chamness, president and chief executiveofficer of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies,has written the Senate urging it to reform rather than replace thestate-based insurance regulatory system.

His letter was written in anticipation that Congress will debatelegislation dealing with insurance regulatory issues when itreturns to work from its summer recess Sept. 8.

He was responding to the comments July 29 by Sen. Chris Dodd,D-Conn., chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, at a hearing oninsurance issues.

Sen. Dodd said during the session that he would poll hiscommittee over the recess to determine what insurance regulatorybills the committee would be interested in passing this year.

In the letter, Mr. Chamness voiced support for creating anOffice of Insurance Information within the Treasury Department.

Such an office would represent the limited form of federaloversight NAMIC finds appropriate, Mr. Chamness said. The bill isH.R. 5840, the Insurance Information Act.

"NAMIC believes an OII could play an important role in theeffort to streamline and modernize the state-based insuranceregulatory system, while recognizing and respecting the rightfuland necessary role of state-based regulation," Mr. Chamnesssaid.

Mr. Chamness also said in his letter that NAMIC would supportpassage of two other bills, one streamlining oversight ofnonadmitted insurance and reinsurance carriers, and anotherproviding a mechanism for creating uniformity in licensing ofinsurance producers.

The bill reforming regulation of the surplus lines industry isH.R. 1065, the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act. The billrecreating the National Association of Registered Agents andBrokers is H.R. 5611.

But he said NAMIC does not support legislation that would allowrisk retention groups, currently limited to liability coverage, toprovide property insurance. That bill is H.R. 5792.

The House is expected to pass legislation creating an OII andreestablishing NARAB soon after it returns from recess.

Legislation streamlining the surplus lines and reinsuranceindustry passed the House last year. The legislation he asked forquick action on is the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Act of 2007.

Similar legislation was introduced in the Senate last year as S.929, by Florida senators Mel Martinez and Bill Nelson.

S. 929 is co-sponsored by Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, a member ofthe Banking Committee, and Sen. David Vitter, R-La.

In his letter this week, Mr. Chamness said that "NAMIC believesthat significant regulatory reforms are necessary to meet the needsof a dynamic, competitive, modern insurance marketplace."

He added, "The package of targeted reforms outlined above is animmediate, effective and appropriate means of advancing insuranceregulatory reform."