NCOIL to Address Health Reform, Financial Reform, Aftermarket Parts in Boston

Copyright 2010 A.M. Best Company, Inc.All Rights Reserved BestWire

July 2, 2010 Friday 11:06 AM EST

526 words

NCOIL to Address Health Reform, Financial Reform, Aftermarket Parts in Boston

Sean P Carr

WASHINGTON

Perennial state issues and a state outlook on national issues will be on tap when the National Conference of Insurance Legislators holds its summer meeting in Boston, July 7-11.

U.S. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank will brief lawmakers on the impact on the insurance industry of financial regulatory reforms. The House of Representatives approved what is now known as the Dodd-Frank bill in a 237-192 vote. The bill is now before the Senate (BestWire, July 1, 2010). The legislation establishes a Federal Insurance Office, which NCOIL strongly opposed. It would also enact a reform long desired by the surplus lines sector by placing taxation, regulatory and licensing authority exclusively into the home state of the insured, meaning that multistate policies would only have premiums taxed in a single state (BestWire, June 14, 2010).

Legislators will be interested in hearing from one of the bill’s primary authors what the FIO and a new Financial Services Oversight Council will mean for their role in insurance oversight, NCOIL Executive Director Susan Nolan said. Consumer protections will also of be a primary area interest, she said.

The meeting will start a day earlier than originally planned for special sessions on health care reform. With much of the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act left to the states, lawmakers will hold sessions on the timeline for changes. State regulators representing the National Association of Insurance Commissioners will participate in a “joint dialogue” on health care reform.

“They’re getting a lot of information,” Nolan said. “We really think we’ve covered most of the bases there.”

Property/casualty insurers continue to have concerns about proposed model laws on aftermarket automobile parts and steering in regards to auto body shops. The two issues were part of the same model, but NCOIL members separated them late last year. The model more tightly regulating the use of aftermarket parts in repairs is expected to face a final vote at the Boston meeting, while the anti-steering model will have its first in-person hearing as a stand-alone measure.

Both models are unnecessary, as the issue is well-handled by the states as it is, said Joe Thesing, assistant vice president of state affairs for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies. At last count, 39 states have laws governing the use of aftermarket parts and 46 have laws or regulations to protect the right of policyholders to choose where to have their vehicles repaired, he said.

Just as policyholders have the right to choices, “We believe insurers have a constitutional right to tell their customers about preferred-provider programs,” Thesing said.

“Consumers enjoy those kinds of choices,” said Eric Goldberg, associate general counsel for the American Insurance Association. “This isn’t exactly cutting edge.”

Lawmakers are responding to concerns in their home states, NCOIL Deputy Executive Director Candace Thorson said.

Other issues before NCOIL include workers’ compensation and market conduct annual statements.

(By Sean P. Carr, Washington Correspondent: sean.carr@ambest.com)

July 3, 2010

Copyright © 2010 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy