NU Online News Service, May 5, 12:50 p.m.EDT

The Professional Insurance Agents of New York State Inc. said ithas put up a Web page explaining the state's controversial producerdisclosure regulation due to go into effect next year.

PIANY is negotiating with the New York State InsuranceDepartment over difficulties its sees with the regulation.

At the same time, the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokersof New York and The Council of Insurance Brokers of Greater NewYork have said they will challenge the new rule in court because itis overly burdensome.

PIANY said it has brought back its Agent & BrokerCompensation Disclosure pages on its Web site, www.pia.org/comm/abcd.

The page information offers "a one-stop location for producersto obtain answers and provide input on New York State's producerdisclosure regulation," said PIANY.

Its site includes questions and answers about the regulation,"as well as videos explaining its status and PIANY's continuingefforts to mitigate the burden it will put on agents, theorganization said.

"It will soon include tools for agents such as New York StateInsurance Department-approved disclosure boilerplates and othersuggestions as PIA continues the industry's efforts to mitigate theproblems the regulation presents for independent agents and theirclients," PIANY added.

The most recent addition to the site, PIANY said, is the secondvideo in a series that discusses "questions and misconceptionsabout the regulation." It promised that new videos will be postedfrequently.

"Producers in New York and surrounding states are concernedabout Reg. 194. If this regulation takes effect next January, wewant to make sure they're prepared and that compliance is as easyas possible," said Kevin M. Ryan, PIANY president.

"PIA developed the ABCD Web site to communicate with theproducer community as we clarify implementation issues with theNYSID. We encourage all agents and brokers to send us questions andconcerns as we scrutinize and grapple with the regulation's detailsand make the case for producers as NYSID drafts its circularletter," Mr. Ryan said.

PIANY said it "will continue to participate in regulardiscussions with the NYSID about the regulation until it goes intoeffect Jan. 1, 2011″ and that questions or concerns about theregulation may be directed to PIA at (800) 424-4244, or online at[email protected].

Under the new department regulations, producers will be requiredto describe to consumers their role in the transaction and how theyget paid. If the client requests it, the agent or broker will haveto provide a more detailed statement about compensation. (Go tohttp://bit.ly/c5Lt9x for moredetails.)

The regulation was published after extensive hearings.Regulators began developing it after a 2005 New York AttorneyGeneral's Office investigation revealed that some commercialinsurance brokers took hidden payments to steer clients to insurersinvolved in a bid-rigging scheme.

On the PIANY Web page the organization offers answers toquestions such as:

o Whatexactly will I need to do under this regulation?

o Howlong is the first disclosure required to be?

o Do Ineed to present the disclosure in writing?

o Howmuch information will I be required to disclose?

o Do Ineed to disclose the compensation I would receive from everyalternative I consider?

o Are"direct writers" exempted?