November's elections brought sweeping changes. Democrats control the White House, Congress and a larger share of the governorships and state houses. One of the election season jokes was the winner of the presidential race may want to ask for a recount, given the grim news regarding the economy and financial crisis. President-Elect Barack Obama and other officials need to act quickly and decisively on issues that will affect the economy and the property-casualty insurance industry.
The Democrats Party will have control of the federal government for the first time since 1994, creating sizable challenges for the insurance industry and for the business community. In Congress, there are fewer seats for Republicans, which makes it difficult for the GOP to block legislation before it moves to the floor.
One of the first challenges will likely be a renewed push by Congressman Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) to add windstorm coverage to the National Flood Insurance Program. Taylor has promised to reintroduce this measure, which was blocked in 2008 because of the threat of a presidential veto. We also can expect to see a move to create a federal natural catastrophe backstop, which Obama supports, as well as a new push for federal regulation of insurance and continued efforts to ban the use of credit-based insurance scores.
The View from the States
Democrats expanded their advantage, holding power in both chambers of the legislature in 27 states. Republicans remain in control of 14 states. Democrats gained Delaware, Nevada, New York and Wisconsin state legislatures. On the other hand, Republicans claimed control of Oklahoma and Tennessee state senates, which previously were tied.
Democrats expanded their number of governorships by one from 28 to 29 as Missouri voters elected Democrat Attorney General Jay Nixon in an open race. While the rematch in Washington between Democratic incumbent Gov. Christine Gregoire and Republican challenger Dino Rossi was a dead heat throughout the race, Gregoire won a clear victory. When the two faced off 4 years ago, Gregoire squeaked out a victory by just 129 votes. The governor's race in North Carolina was considered a toss-up, but Democratic Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue claimed the victory. In other races, Delaware elected Democrat Jack Markell, Indiana re-elected Gov. Mitch Daniels, Montana re-elected Gov. Brian Schweitzer, North Dakota re-elected Gov. John Hoeven, Utah re-elected Gov. Jon Huntsman, Vermont re-elected Gov. Jim Douglas and West Virginia re-elected Joe Manchin.
Party control of state legislatures and governorships is especially important because the winners will be in office when legislative districts are redrawn in 2010. Every 10 years with the census, the states redraw state legislative and congressional district boundaries. In addition to redistricting, the change in party control in some states also results in new legislative leaders, including the possibility of new insurance committee chairs.
We anticipate renewed challenges on insurers' use of credit and auto body repair. Auto body issues remain a top concern in many states, including Rhode Island, Connecticut and California, and we would not be surprised to see these issues discussed in 20 or more states in 2009. We will continue to push for comprehensive reforms to the North Carolina Beach Plan and the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, and we will work to improve the Florida insurance marketplace.
The Races for Commissioners
Also important to the industry were the contests for insurance commissioner. As expected, incumbent Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, a Democrat, easily won re-election. On the other hand, incumbent North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm, a Republican, narrowly defeated Democrat Jasper Schneider with just more than 1,400 votes. Hamm was appointed commissioner after Jim Poolman resigned the office midterm last year.
New commissioners will take office in Delaware, Montana and North Carolina. In Delaware, Democrat Karen Weldin-Stewart, who defeated Republican John Brady, will be facing workers' compensation issues. Montana state auditor Democrat Monica Lindeen will face credit scoring and workers' compensation issues. North Carolina will have a new insurance commissioner for the first time in 23 years as Democrat Wayne Goodwin defeated Republican John Odom to succeed his boss Jim Long. Major issues before Goodwin will be coastal insurance, rate modernization and fighting insurance fraud.
In Arizona, Proposition 201-the Homeowner's Bill of Rights-was overwhelmingly defeated. This initiative would have eliminated the mediation and arbitration clauses in construction contracts and lead to more litigation. In Colorado, controversy surrounding anti-business initiatives, including one that would eliminate the exclusive remedy in workers' compensation, was in play, but these initiatives were pulled before the election.
There was also good news coming out of Oregon as voters rejected Ballot Measure 63, which would have exempted farm and home construction projects valued at up to $35,000 from state building permit and code requirements. This initiative was sponsored by Bill Sizemore, who also sponsored the 2006 credit scoring ban initiative in Oregon.
This year, PCI ran its largest effort in history to encourage insurance professionals to learn about the candidates, get involved and to vote. PCI provided members with information about key races, online tools for voter registration, and detailed information on candidates through its new political action Web site, www.pcipoliticalaction.net. PCI used a combination of online and in-person grassroots outreach to encourage members to make their voices heard on Election Day. By the end of the campaign, PCI had sent out more than 180,000 e-mails to insurance industry professionals.
Now that Election Day is over, thousands of insurance-related bills will be introduced. Because the elections have brought in new legislators, it is critical for the industry to help lawmakers understand the essential role a healthy, competitive insurance marketplace plays in keeping the nation's economy moving forward and to find opportunities for positively advancing our agenda and industry to protect peoples' property and dreams, and rebuilds lives and communities.
We continue to face adversaries who do not like our industry and who want to dictate our business terms. These groups want to be involved in every micro decision that will affect the products we offer, our pricing environment, and the way we do business. We expect they will see the current environment as an opportunity to advance their agendas. We must be strong advocates with policymakers, thought leaders and the public on the vital role of our industry and the contributions we make to the success of the American economy and our communities.
Apart from the elections, the financial market crisis is shifting the terms of the debate regarding the regulatory framework for the financial services industry. Increased pressure for sweeping reform at the federal level will engage PCI and others at the state and federal levels to educate Congress, the new administration, state lawmakers and regulators. Our board of governors recently formed a special board committee on financial services regulatory reform and will be meeting with lawmakers at all levels on insurance specific proposals.

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