NAIC Initiates 2018 Budget Approval Process

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 -- The National Association of Insurance Commissioners issued the following news release:

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is releasing its proposed 2018 budget, following months of development by NAIC officers, the NAIC Internal Administration (EX1) Subcommittee, the NAIC Executive (EX) Committee and NAIC staff.

"The 2018 budget represents important investments in the NAIC's systems and technical infrastructure which will improve efficiency as well as enhance analytical capabilities," said Julie Mix McPeak, NAIC President-Elect and Tennessee Insurance Commissioner. "We are taking steps to deliver products and services to market faster with less capital investment as we migrate toward cloud technology. As always, the officers have worked with NAIC staff to safeguard our financial resources and ensure prudent financial management, while providing superior services to regulators, consumers and industry partners."

The NAIC's proposed 2018 budget includes total revenues (including investment income) of $106.3 million and total expenses of $106.4 million, which represents a 4.3 percent increase and 2.8 percent increase, respectively, from the 2017 budget.

The proposed 2018 budget includes eight Fiscal Impact Statements (fiscals):

Enterprise Web Security Framework - This initiative will establish a next-generation enterprise web security framework for the organization, which will enhance the security of existing applications, offer additional functionality for web applications as they are developed and improve customer experience across the organization's applications.

Consumer Information Source (CIS) Redesign - The CIS application is the NAIC's primary tool for providing consumers access to insurance company information through the NAIC website including aggregate closed confirmed customer complaint data, key financial data, company licensing and lost life insurance policies. The redesign of the CIS platform will integrate with state insurance departments and will enhance the type of data available to consumers, improve the display of the data and augment the search capabilities, resulting in a more customer-driven experience.

Data De-Identification - This initiative provides the capability to centrally manage data de-identification and to use a shared database of de-identified personally identifiable information (PII) across the association during development and testing of applications. This initiative includes the procurement, implementation, and rollout of an enterprise data-masking tool.

Financial Analysis Tools Redesign - This initiative will provide significant work efficiencies for regulators and NAIC staff using Financial Data Repository (FDR) data and tools as well as NAIC staff developing and maintaining the various FDR applications. Streamlining business processes and using modern technology will provide efficiencies as well as enhance functionality of the analytical tool set.

Online Fraud Reporting System (OFRS) Redesign - OFRS provides a process for consumers, industry, and regulators to report alleged fraudulent activities to state insurance departments, primarily through facilitation of data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau. This initiative will enhance the submission and display of alleged and confirmed fraudulent actions and address outstanding enhancement requests, such as improved search capabilities and the use of attachments.

OPTins Redesign - The Online Premium Tax for Insurance (OPTins) application facilitates state premium tax, surplus lines, and other state-specific filings. This initiative will rewrite the system as a cloud-native application, thus replacing outdated technology and improving the system's scalability, performance, and ability to deliver new features.

VISION - Phase II - This enhancement to the NAIC's securities filing system, VISION, will provide additional security identifiers and improved data on business relationships. This information will significantly enhance the NAIC's ability to properly identify securities and will add these additional identifiers to NAIC systems enhancing the investment analysis process.

SERFF Pricing and Policy Restructure - The SERFF system will be 20 years old in 2018, with the same pricing structure in place for the last 17 years. This fiscal will modify the current pricing structure by reducing the number of tiers, reducing the price under the "Pay As You Go" option and making several pricing changes including the expiration of tiers 24 months after purchase.

The pricing change is designed to be revenue neutral over the next three years. It is anticipated that nearly 85 percent of current SERFF customers will experience no change or a reduction in fees paid compared to the current structure.

The NAIC's proposed 2018 budget.

*The proposed budget is almost 190 pages and is set up for duplex printing.

Budget Briefing Call Details

A budget briefing is scheduled on Monday, Oct. 23, 2017, at 11:30 a.m. ET/10:30 a.m. CT/9:30 a.m. MT/8:30 a.m. PT. The purpose of this briefing is to provide an overview of the proposed 2018 budget in advance of the comment deadline of Nov. 10, 2017.

To participate in this call pre-register by following the instructions at http://dpregister.com/10113192. Participants will receive their dial-in number upon registration.

Public Hearing

A public hearing will be held on Nov. 21, 2017. Please provide any written comments on the proposed budget to Jim Woody at jwoody@naic.org by Nov. 10, 2017. Details for this call will be posted on the NAIC website no later than Oct. 27, 2017.