Agents Drop W.Va. Countersignature Suit
By Mark E. Ruquet
NU Online News Service, April 12, 1:16 p.m. EST?An insurance agent group's lawsuit over a requirement that out of state agents have a local agent countersignature in order to operate in West Virginia has been dropped.[@@]
The Washington, D.C.-based Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers said it dropped its action against the state after it dropped the requirement that non-resident agents and brokers doing business in the state obtain the signature of a resident agent on insurance placed in West Virginia.
The CIAB said its decision came after West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise said he would sign a bill that was passed in March by the state egislature, which overturns the countersignature law.
The measure will take effect at the end of this year.
"Obviously, since the countersignature requirements will soon be wiped off the books, there is no need to pursue the lawsuit," said Ken A. Crerar, president of the CIAB, in a statement. "We appreciate the actions of the West Virginia Legislature and Gov. Wise to repeal this egregious vestige of protectionism."
Jane L. Cline, West Virginia insurance commissioner, told National Underwriter that the CIAB lawsuit helped pass the legislation, which had been stalled by lobbyists insistent on keeping the provision intact.
"The trigger for this bill was the suit filed by the agent community," Ms. Cline said. "Once we received the complaint, it gave us the assistance to move ahead."
Elimination of the countersignature law was part of an overall producer licensing modernization act that West Virginia has been in the process of drafting since the passage of Gramm-Leach-Bliley, she said.
The CIAB said that it has similar lawsuits still pending in South Dakota, Nevada and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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