The R Street Institute Releases Eighth Annual Insurance Regulation Report Card

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 -- The R Street Institute issued the following news release:

For the eighth year in a row, the R Street Institute has compiled its Insurance Regulation Report Card, an examination of how states regulate the business of insurance.

In the 2019 report, R Street Senior Fellow and Director of Finance, Insurance and Trade R.J. Lehmann addresses three fundamental questions: How free are consumers to choose the insurance products they want? How free are insurers to provide the insurance products consumers want? How effectively are states discharging their duties to monitor insurer solvency and foster competitive, private insurance markets?

For the sixth straight year, Vermont has the best insurance regulatory environment in the United States. For the second year in a row, Louisiana has the worst score in the country, edging out second-to-worst New York. The biggest improvements were seen in Florida (from a B to an A-), Montana (from a D to a C-) and New Mexico (from a B- to a B+). The biggest declines were seen in Colorado (from a C to a D+), Maine (from an A- to a B) and Oregon (from a B to a C+).

The author adds, "In 2019, we saw progress toward more competitive insurance markets. Residual property insurance mechanisms continued to shrink. Florida enacted landmark reform of its assignment-of-benefits system and Michigan finally ended its mandate that all personal injury protection policies must provide unlimited lifetime medical benefits, which had driven out-of-control costs for decades."