September usually marks the start of a very productive period aspeople return from summer vacation, schools are back in session,and businesses operate without interruption.

This, of course, does not apply to Congress. It is easier tolist the insurance-related issues Congress has not addressed thisyear than those it has. The list of accomplishments is very short,while the tally of inaction is long.

Flood and TRIA

Renewal by Congress of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act(TRIA), which faces expiration at the end of this year, shouldhave been a no-brainer. The entire insurance industry urged supportfor a seven-year reauthorization bill that was ultimately passed inthe Senate in July by an overwhelming 93-4 vote.

Given the partisan gridlock that has paralyzed most significantlegislation in Congress over the past several years, the voteproved that legislators can still act when something is in thenational interest.

Almost. It is usually in the House where consensus hits a brickwall. For a time, it looked like TRIA renewal would be exempt fromthis hyper-partisanship. But it was not to be.

No sooner had the Senate acted than House Financial ServicesCommittee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) threw cold water on anyidea that the House would quickly follow suit and take up TRIAreauthorization. Hensarling issued a statement deriding the Senatebill, and that it “is going to take several more months” toreauthorize the program.

The Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2013(H.R. 3370) was signed into law on March 21, 2014, repealingportions of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act (BW-12),passed in 2012.

A major focus of BW-12 had been moving NFIP flood policies toactuarially sound rates—only it did so too fast. “As insuranceagents, we have to support risk-based rating,” said PIA NationalPresident-elect Richard A. Clements, who also chairs the FloodInsurance Producers National Committee. “But we want to do it on anaffordable basis.” He noted that H.R. 3370 mandated anaffordability study and also included key provisions ongrandfathering and mitigation that PIA supported.

Many other insurance-related bills have been proposed, but fewwill see any action before the election. These include:

The Insurance Data Protection Act (not yet introduced),which would rein in the power of the Federal Insurance Office (FIO)to subpoena data from insurance companies. The bill would requirethe FIO to obtain data through the insurance company's stateregulator.

The Service Members Insurance Relief Act (H.R. 4669)would allow members of the U.S. military to retain their autoinsurance policies when they are transferred to new bases.

Insurance Capital Standards Clarification Act of 2014(H.R. 4510) would clarify the application of capital requirementsto insurance companies that are subject to supervision by theFederal Reserve Board.

Most of these and other proposals will remain bottled up in thepartisan pressure cooker that prevents consensus on mostlegislation. Will there be more agreement after the 2014 elections?Perhaps—but preparations are already underway for the 2016elections. And on it goes.