NAIC Applauds FIO’s State-Based Support
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NAIC STATEMENTS ON FIO MODERNIZATION REPORT WASHINGTON, D.C. (Dec. 12, 2013) —The following are statements from NAIC President and Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon and NAIC CEO Senator Ben Nelson on the Federal Insurance Office Modernization Report: We are pleased the Treasury Department continues to embrace the state-based system of insurance regulation. We are in the process of analyzing the report and the recommendations included. Our members had an opportunity in December 2011 to sit down with the director of FIO as his office was preparing the report to ensure that they had adequate background to reflect the state regulator perspective. Like the recent GAO report Insurance Markets During the Financial Crisis, we note that it acknowledges the effectiveness of state-based insurance regulation and the improvements states have made. The timing of the report is fortuitous, as our membership will be gathering for our Fall National Meeting in Washington, D.C. this weekend. We will be discussing this report there, as well as with Secretary Lew when we meet with him next week. State regulators – both individually and collectively through the NAIC – are constantly working to improve our national state-based system of insurance regulation. We will add this report to our agenda for discussion when the full membership gathers in DC for our National Meeting starting this weekend. The Dodd-Frank Act established the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) within the Treasury Department and makes clear that FIO is not a regulatory agency and its authorities do not displace state insurance regulation. While we appreciate FIO’s suggestions for improvement, the states have the ultimate responsibility for implementing regulatory changes. The NAIC’s deliberate, thoughtful, and transparent process has served policyholders well for the past 140 years. In this regard, reports such as this one as well as other comments provided by consumers, industry, and governmental organizations as part of this process are always welcome and are useful tools for assisting regulators in identifying areas that require improvement. |
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