NU Online News Service, Aug. 11, 3:23 p.m. EDT
As Congress prepares for 2011 discussions on an optional federal charter, a new association representing small-to-midsize insurers will focus primarily on opposing any federal regulation of the industry.
The new group, called the States Alliance for Balanced Insurance Regulation (SABIR), will be chaired by Ernst Csiszar, who is a former South Carolina insurance director, National Association of Insurance Commissioners president, and former president and chief executive officer of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI).
David Bass, president and CEO of Raptor Strategies LLC, based in Washington, will serve as the association's executive director, and former Rep. Barry Goldwater Jr., R-Calif., will be president.
The group said its formation was prompted by the "onslaught of federal regulations" over the insurance industry, citing creation of a Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, which will be housed within the Treasury Department.
The group said it will be the "dominant voice" in protecting the interests of small- and midsize businesses within and related to the insurance industry.
It said it will represent varied interested companies, organizations and individuals at both the federal and state levels.
"SABIR will be fundamentally different from other major insurance associations in that we won't be inclined to support federal regulation," Mr. Bass said.
"We were born of the sentiments and frustration from insurers across the nation," he said. "They have always operated under state regulation and the intrusive federal government threatens not only their way of business but their existence as a whole."
He said the group contends that federal regulation "would weaken consumer protection, hinder growth of smaller companies and promote politically inspired rate suppression."
Mr. Csiszar said, "SABIR's founding membership spans the industry, representing providers as well as purchasers of insurance products, including health care."
Mr. Csiszar and Mr. Bass said SABIR is scheduled to host its first event at the NAIC's Seattle meeting, which is now underway.
The group's formation follows an announcement by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., that an optional federal charter will be on Congress' 2011 agenda because it has strong bipartisan support.
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