Three Groups Declare United Push To Keep OFC At Bay

The nation's insurance regulators and two state lawmaker groups announced today that they have unanimity in working to keep insurance as a state-regulated industry.

Making the announcement were National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) President Sandy Praeger and National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) President Brian Patrick Kennedy, as well as the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Communications, Financial Services and Interstate Commerce Standing Committee chair, Delores Kelley.

Ms. Praeger is Kansas insurance commissioner and Mr. Kennedy is a Democratic state representative from Hopkinton, R.I., while Ms. Kelley is a Democratic state senator from Baltimore.

In a joint statement, the trio said their groups had "reaffirmed their commitment to working together to protect U.S. insurance consumers and support state-based insurance regulation."

"The number-one job of state insurance regulators is to protect consumers. However, it is not merely enough for us to effectively and efficiently regulate the business of insurance," Ms. Praeger said. "It is just as important for us to proactively educate consumers and continuously advocate on their behalf--with state, federal and international regulators and policymakers."

"There will be several more opportunities for us to work together in the coming year to modernize insurance regulation and increase uniformity where appropriate," Mr. Kennedy said. "I am confident that this type of cooperation and collaboration will result in practical solutions that streamline regulation without compromising consumer protection."

Ms. Kelley noted, "As a state legislator, I know how much I value and rely upon the experience and expertise of my state insurance regulatory staff and my NAIC counterparts when considering and acting upon insurance-related issues.

"By doing so, I have found that the roles state regulators and state legislators play in protecting the public interest through the enactment of quality, effective legislation are truly complementary."

The trio said that because of this type of cooperation, key consumer protections have been enacted nationwide, with legislators and regulators working together to get model laws and regulations adopted as quickly and widely as possible.

They added that this approach has led to "the success of innovative solutions to the nation's complex insurance problems, including the Interstate Insurance Compact Regulation Commission, the National Insurance Producer Registry, State Based Systems, and the System for Electronic Rate and Form Filing."

Their statement noted that to further improve dialogue with state lawmakers on these and other issues, the NAIC has recently created the NAIC/Legislator Liaison Committee.

They said during its first two meetings, the committee discussed the proposal in Congress to create an optional federal charter system for insurers.

The panel also took up life insurance sales to military personnel during a meeting that included several state and federal legislators.

This year, it was announced, the committee will focus on increasing state participation in the Interstate Insurance Compact Regulation Commission and promoting regulatory uniformity in the producer-licensing area.