Members of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors board of trustees voted Friday in favor of offering conditional support for letting life insurers choose between state and federal regulation.
The trustees of NAIFA, Falls Church, Va., endorsed a measure recommending that NAIFA’s governing body consider backing optional federal charter legislation.
The trustees qualified that support for the OFC concept by recommending that NAIFA work to ensure that any bill passed give NAIFA members flexibility, according to a letter to NAIFA’s leaders that the trustees released today.
The NAIFA board policy formation subcommittee has recommended that NAIFA should “continue to support the principles underlying state regulation of the business of insurance and efforts to improve the state-based system of insurance regulation; and amend the current NAIFA policy on insurance regulatory reform to include support of the OFC concept provided that several conditions are met,” the trustees write in the letter.
“We believe any modernization proposals should promote consumer protection, streamline agent licensing, improve product speed to market, and improve the competitiveness of the insurance industry,” the trustees write.
And, if a National Insurance Act does become law, “we want our members to have the option to remain licensed and regulated at the state level,” the trustees write.