The resignation of Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., from Congress will probably have little effect on the insurance industry's legislative agenda, according to one expert in the field.

Although Mr. Foley was a member of the key House Ways and Means Committee, he did not play a significant role in the industry's efforts, according to J. Robert Hunter, director of insurance for the Consumer Federation of America.

“I don't think it was great,” Mr. Hunter said of Mr. Foley's work on insurance measures. “I don't remember anything, except for disaster insurance, and most of the Florida delegation was pushing that.”

Last year Mr. Foley introduced legislation in the House to allow insurers to establish tax-deductible reserves for catastrophic events. That bill, HR 2668, was referred to the Ways and Means Committee, but was never acted on.

One bill he introduced that was passed into law was HR 1134. The measure excludes payments made to property owners by government programs such as the National Flood Insurance Program from being counted part of their taxable gross income.

Mr. Foley did not appear to rely heavily on insurance industry contributions. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan organization that tracks campaign donations, no property and casualty insurers or associations were among the top 20 donors to Mr. Foley, with Columbus, Ga.-based AFLAC the only insurer among the top contributors.

The Center's Web site, which contains data collected from the Federal Election Commission that was made public on Monday, showed that industry groups that had donated to Mr. Foley's campaign during the 2004 election cycle had decreased their contribution or stopped giving altogether for the 2006 election.

Among them were the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, which reduced their donation from $8,000 in 2004 to $6,500 in 2006, and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, which did not repeat its $1,000 donation from the 2004 race.

The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers, which had donated $5,000 to Mr. Foley's 2004 campaign, was also among those not to repeat their donation.

For the 2006 race, the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies donated $2,000 to Mr. Foley's campaign through their political action committee, and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors donated $5,000, half of their 2004 contribution.

A number of other insurers, including AIG, Fireman's Fund and Mutual of Omaha, had also contributed to Mr. Foley's campaign in 2004 through their own PACs. In total, Mr. Foley had amassed almost $600,000 in PAC contributions for the 2006 election, and over $800,000 including individual donors.

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Foley Departure No Loss For Insurers

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