WASHINGTON--The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers members' annual pilgrimage to Congress this week will see them lobbying for legislation to reform surplus lines and reinsurance markets regulation, a CIAB representative said.

The organization's annual Insurance Legislative Summit, to be held in conjunction with the Reinsurance Association of America, begins Wednesday, and Thursday the group is scheduled to hear from four key Congressional leaders in addition to visiting lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Joel Wood, CIAB senior vice president, government affairs, said the group's top legislation priority is enactment of the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act, which will soon be reintroduced by Reps. Dennis Moore, D-Kan., and Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Fla.

Other CIAB concerns include renewal of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act and enactment of legislation creating an optional federal charter.

Concerning federal support for insurers against terrorist attacks, Mr. Wood said, "Members will urge Congress to enact long-lasting reforms consistent with the private marketplace and the absolute need for an ongoing federal role."

The CIAB, he said, will also press for preservation and enhancement of the employer-provided group health insurance marketplace, "while seeking ways to cut health care costs through IT and efficiency."

CIAB members are scheduled to get a briefing at the Rayburn House Office Building from House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.

Other speakers will be Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Penn., chairman of the Capital Markets and Insurance Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee, and Rep. Moore.

CIAB officials said they also expect that Don Powell, the point man for the Bush administration's Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts, will address the issue of federal catastrophe insurance program proposals when he speaks at the group's annual White House briefing tomorrow.

Strong criticism of the industry's handling of claims resulting from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita has led lawmakers to schedule a number of hearings, and retaliatory legislation has been introduced that would alter the McCarran-Ferguson Act, limiting the industry's antitrust exemption.

The CIAB said it also expects introduction soon of legislation that will create an all-perils policy under the National Flood Insurance Program.

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CIAB Members' Capitol Visit To Push Surplus Lines Bill

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