Reinsurance Regulation Proposal Returns

“Making the insurance market fairer and simpler benefits us all,” Moore says in a statement about H.R. 1065. “With such broad, bipartisan support in the past, I’m confident that this legislation, which is long overdue, will again receive very strong support in the House, and I hope that the Senate will join us in passing this legislation.”

At a recent event on Capitol Hill organized by the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers, Washington, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., said his committee would take a “good look” at H.R. 1065.

Some insurance industry groups are supporting H.R. 1065 and are supporting it as an alternative to “optional federal charter” proposals, or proposals to let companies choose between state and federal regulation.

“This consensus bill contrasts sharply with proposals such as the ‘optional’ federal charter, which is very controversial both within the industry and on Capitol Hill,” says Charles Symington, a senior vice president at the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, Alexandria, Va.

Support for the bill in the last Congress went beyond those seeking an alternative to OFC proposals, according to Joel Wood, a senior vice president at the CIAB.

“What was remarkable about this bill last year, and again this year, is that it comes as close as any meaningful legislation we’ve ever seen to attracting universal support among the stakeholders – policyholders, insurers, and, yes, even the state regulators, who have been extremely constructive in their commentary about the need for reform in this area,” Wood says.

The American Council of Life Insurers, Washington, says it sees H.R. 1065 as a complement to OFC legislation.

“H.R. 1065 would improve reinsurance regulation,” ACLI representative Jack Dolan says. “We’d like to see this bill as part of a comprehensive legislation to reform insurance regulation that would provide for an optional federal charter. But it is also important to note that while we support addressing the issues raised by the H.R. 1065 within the context of an OFC debate, the legislation would help those companies that would choose to remain state chartered under an OFC.”