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July 10, 2018 at 01:13 PM
Members of the U.S. House today passed H.R. 4537, an international insurance standards talks bill that has pushed property-casualty insurer groups away from life insurer groups, by a voice vote.
House leaders put H.R. 4537, the “International Insurance Standards Act of 2017″ bill, on a list of bills with such broad support that they can be considered without using the usual House rules. House members debated the bill for about 40 minutes, passed the bill, then rejected a motion calling for the House to hold a recorded vote on the measure.
(Related: Insurance Trade Negotiation Bill May Split Industry)
Because the House passed the bill by a voice vote, no vote tally is available.
Members of the House Financial Services Committee approved the bill by a 56-4 vote in December.
If implemented as written, the bill would:
- Require international insurance standards negotiators to seek standards deals that conform with existing federal and state laws and regulations.
- Require negotiators to consult with state insurance commissioners and Congress before making insurance standards deals.
- Give Congress a process for rejecting international insurance standards deals.
The procedures and rules described in the bill would apply only to insurance standards efforts, not to “any forum or negotiations related to a trade agreement.”
The bill was introduced by Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., and Rep. Denny Heck, D-Wash.
The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) and the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) both support the bill.
Nat Wienecke, a senior vice president at PCI, said in a statement Monday that the bill supports the state-based nature of the U.S. insurance regulation system.
The bill “recognizes the appropriate role of state insurance regulators in developing international insurance standards and provides that Congress receives appropriate notice to exercise its oversight over such negotiations, Wienecke said.
NAMIC said in March that it fears the effects of poorly written international standards on member insurers.
“NAMIC has long expressed concern that negotiations at the International Association of Insurance Supervisors aimed at creating regulatory uniformity across global borders could conflict with and undermine the regulatory structure that has served U.S. consumers for more than 150 years,” the group said in a statement.
