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Life Health > Life Insurance

NAIFA Reacts To Bill FTC Reference

By Arthur D. Postal

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The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors has concerns about the idea of putting a Federal Trade Commission representative on a proposed federal insurance advisory board.

Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Capital Markets Subcommittee, has included an FTC rep provision in a new version of H.R. 5840. The bill would create the advisory board along with a new federal Office of Insurance Information.

NAIFA President Jeffrey Taggart says giving the FTC a seat on the advisory board is unnecessary.

“Congress already has the authority to engage the FTC in studies and investigations of the insurance industry if it chooses and can incorporate the FTC’s viewpoint on any future recommendation(s) coming from the OII,” Taggart says.

NAIFA’s board recently announced support for an earlier version of H.R. 5840.

The provision adding the FTC to the advisory board is part of a substitute to the original version of H.R. 5840.

Kanjorski reportedly has been showing the substitute to life insurance industry lobbyists.

Kanjorski is holding a hearing on the bill Tuesday.

Steve Rahn of Lincoln National Corp., Philadelphia, will represent the American Council of Life Insurers, Washington, at the hearing.

Kanjorski is circulating a substitute to ease the concerns of officials at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Kansas City, Mo., and supporters of continued state regulation that the bill as introduced would give the Treasury broad authority to preempt state regulation of insurance.

“NAIFA is currently studying the proposed revisions Chairman Kanjorski has made to the Insurance Information Act, and upon initial review they appear to be headed in the right direction,” Taggart says

Insurers are skeptical about the idea of adding the FTC rep to the insurance advisory board, which would be separate from the OII, in part because the insurance industry has had conflicts with the FTC over matters such as credit scoring and market conduct.

In 1980, Congress barred the FTC from investigating insurers unless it was authorized to do so by Congress.

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