Lott To Testify At Hearing On Insurance Antitrust Bill

The bipartisan bill was introduced Feb. 15 by Sen. Leahy; Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the most senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee; Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., Senate majority leader; and Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., Senate minority whip.

The decision to hold a hearing so soon after the introduction of the bill clearly signals that the committee wants to determine quickly whether there is enough political support for the bill to spend time on it in this Congress.

Lawmakers are holding the hearing early in the congressional year because the schedule is crowded, and whether the bill is able to get through the committee promptly may determine whether it can become law during the 2-year term of the current Congress.

The first witness to speak at the hearing will be Lott, a harsh critic of the p-c industry’s handling of claims resulting from Katrina. Lott sued his own insurer in connection with allegations that it failed to pay his claim promptly. His lawyers say the claim recently was settled.

Property-casualty insurance industry lobbyists have voiced deep concerns about the bill, especially its potential impact on small insurers and agents.

Some lobbyists say Leahy and Specter are putting pressure on insurers now because industry opposition that blocked efforts in 2006 to set up an alternative claims-processing mechanism for workers injured by exposure to asbestos in the workplace.

S. 618 would give the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission the authority to apply antitrust laws to “anti-competitive behavior by insurance companies,” according to Leahy.

Another provision of concern to the life insurance industry would remove a provision of the Federal Trade Commission Act barring the agency from undertaking probes or issuing reports on insurance industry practices without direct congressional authorization.