Insurer, Agent Groups Push for Regulatory Oversight for Ind. Insurance Pooling Bills

The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, the Insurance Institute of Indiana and the Independent Agents of Indiana are calling on the governor and legislators to include regulatory oversight in proposals to create a pooling mechanism to meet the insurance needs of Indiana schools.

In his state of the state address, Gov. Mitch Daniels called on legislators to pass his proposals, HB 1006 and SB 323, which as written contain no provision for oversight from the Indiana Department of Insurance. The proposals were heard in the education committees in both the House and Senate last week.

NAMIC and the the Insurance Institute of Indiana have worked with the governor’s staff and Insurance Commissioner Jim Atterholt to draft amendments adopted during both committee hearings which would place the school pools under the same regulatory regimen imposed on multiple employer welfare arrangements (MEWAs) and require them to use statutory accounting guidelines. As amended, both bills passed the committees on party line votes.

During committee testimony, NAMIC Central Region State Affairs Manager Tami Stanton held up a bound copy of Indiana’s Title 27 and stated “legislators have enacted all these statutes regulating the business of insurance for presumably good reasons. To allow insurance pools to operate without the same regulations is not fair to consumers or insurers.”

On the Senate side, Sen. Teresa Lubbers is also pushing insurance pooling for private, independent colleges in SB 229, which does not include any regulation by the Indiana Department of Insurance. The bill was heard in the Senate Insurance Committee on Thursday, but no committee vote was taken due to strong opposition from NAMIC, the Insurance Institute of Indiana and the Independent Insurance Agents of Indiana.

“Indiana has always been a good insurance state for the consumer. It is a state that fortunately does not experience the same availability and affordability issues faced by other states due to our very competitive marketplace. Education is important, but the key challenges facing educational institutions are not related to the cost of insurance in the state of Indiana,” added Stanton.

SB 229 is scheduled for additional hearing during an insurance committee meeting on Jan. 26. In the interim, NAMIC and the Institute will meet with Sen. Lubbers for further discussion on amendments to the bill.

Source: National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies

Topics Carriers Agencies Legislation