Csiszar Rebukes Critics
National Association of Insurance Commissioners President Ernst Csiszar began the group's spring meeting last week by denying a charge by consumer groups that he is improperly pushing a deregulation agenda.
"Let me state firmly, strictly, affirmatively and without the shadow of a doubt, that contrary to popular reports, I am an unabashed supporter of state regulation," Mr. Csiszar said during a speech at the NAIC's opening session. "I say it with pride. I say it with passion. I say it because I firmly believe that together, we can change the system."
Earlier this month a coalition of consumer groups wrote the NAIC asking that Mr. Csiszar, South Carolina's insurance director, drop what they called a radical agenda to deregulate the industry or resign from the presidency.
The letter suggesting that Mr. Csiszar may need to resign was signed by J. Robert Hunter, director of insurance for Consumer Federation of America, and Norma P. Garcia, Consumers Union senior attorney, representing Americans for Insurance Reform and its 100 participating groups.
Mr. Csiszar responded to the consumer groups' criticism at the time, calling it "unwarranted and inaccurate" and stating he absolutely had not abandoned state regulation nor any NAIC established policies.
At the meeting on March 13, the NAIC president reiterated his view that some type of federal intervention legislation will be introduced this year and that it is his intention to continue to work with Congressional members to ensure that state regulators will have a voice in this process and that regulatory reforms will maintain state-regulatory authority.
"What we are seeing is a message from Congress the House in particular that sometime before June there will be legislation introduced taking a preemptive type of approach to a select number of issues: market conduct, interstate-compact implementation, agent-licensing, company-licensing, ratings, and so on," Mr. Csiszar said.
He emphasized that NAIC, despite its distaste for federal oversight, has "to be realistic that this is coming so we certainly want to participate in the process. We have been engaged in active dialogues with members of the House." (See related stories on page 6.)
Mr. Csiszar stressed that the House members could proceed very quickly. "There is a hearing scheduled for March 31, and you will see a draft of the legislation starting to circulate shortly after that."
After the March 31 hearing, there will be a separate hearing on the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act during the third or fourth week of April, and during that time the House could flesh out draft legislation, according to the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, based in Des Plaines, Ill. PCI said there will be another hearing in the beginning of May for industry feedback, with an eye to being ready to move to a markup of the bill soon after that.
The legislation could involve a big package including provisions for speeding market approval for products, market-conduct reform, agent licensing and company licensing or it could also just be for the life insurance industry, said Robert Zeman, PCI's senior vice president for industry and regulatory affairs.
"So there are a lot of ways this can be narrowed down. But something is going to get done at the federal level this year, and I think Commissioner Csiszar recognizes that," Mr. Zeman said.
Mr. Csiszar also told National Underwriter that what is very clear for this year is that "we are certainly going to be faced with the fact that at the federal level, there will be some legislative activity, and it behooves us to take that into consideration as we proceed with our work."
The commissioners also heard a talk delivered by Rep. Michael Oxley, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. In the wake of the congressman's remarks, Mr. Csiszar said it is clear now that "we are going to be seeing, at least in the House, a desire to fashion legislation that takes federal tools or preemptive approaches to a variety of different issues that are relevant to the industry."
"We can make the changes that are needed and we can ultimately deliver to consumers the kind of regulatory environment that they deserve. We can do this at the state level with or without the federal intervention," Mr. Csiszar said.
Mr. Csiszar added that as anxious as he is to proceed with his work preferably without the threat of federal intervention "it is a simple reality that that threat exists and that we have to face that reality."
Reproduced from National Underwriter Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, March 19, 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.
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