NCOIL, Say It Aint So!

NCOIL, Say It Aint So!

Every now and then, politicians forget they are public servants, elected by We, The People to make laws in the best interests of those who voted them into office.

I hope that the amnesia afflicting the National Conference of Insurance Legislators is only temporary, and that the association will soon reverse its ludicrous decision on disclosure.

NCOILs Web site (www.ncoil.org) is hereby restricted via a password-protected system put in place to “privatize access” to model bills and resolutions, reports, issue briefs, and meeting minutes. Legislators from the 33 states that belong to NCOIL will continue to get full access, while registrants at NCOIL gatherings will be given temporary passwords to view meeting documents.

However, “interested parties” who do not attend NCOIL meetings will be charged a fee for such access.

What about the press? “Media interested in nonpublic documents may contact the NCOIL National Office for a copy, with the clear stipulation that the information shall not be distributed beyond that reporter,” NCOIL stated on its Web site. Theyve got to be kidding!

Oh, by the way, all committee working drafts would “remain open to the public”that is, until their official adoption. Other freebies will include NCOILs monthly newsletter, news releases and information regarding upcoming meetings. Gee, thanks!

Im particularly annoyed that NCOILs senior staff stopped by our office on Jan. 23 for a pleasant chat about the issues of the dayyet never bothered to mention the momentous change in access policy announced by the group the following week! Talk about lack of disclosure!

Im not the only one teed-off. “This is truly an outrage,” wrote J. Robert Hunter, insurance director for the Consumer Federation of America, in an e-mail to NCOIL, copied to me. “There is no basis for public servants to restrict the public from their deliberations and work projects, especially given the uneven distribution of resources between insurers (who can pay for these items and pass the cost on to consumers) and the general public.”

Mr. Hunter went on to complain that NCOILs policy creates “an unnecessary barrierbetween NCOIL and the public, especially from an organization dominated by insurance company delegates at your meetings and heavily made up of part-time legislators who are full-time insurance industry employees.”

I rarely see eye-to-eye with Bob Hunter, but I support him 100 percent on this issue. There is no way a group of public officials should keep information about the publics business from the publicunless, that is, they are willing to pay for the privilege!

NCOILs director of legislative affairs and education, Candace Frick, responded to Mr. Hunter that NCOIL “appreciates your concerns” and that the groups Business Planning Committee would “further discuss the question of consumer access to the Web site” at its meeting in San Antonio, Feb. 26-to-29.

At that time, NCOILs members must come to their senses, remember who it is they serve, and restore free public access to all their documents.

NCOIL, let the sun shine in!

Reproduced from National Underwriter Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, January 30, 2004. Copyright 2004 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.