NEWS RELEASE - September 9, 2009 Contact: Maura Nelson Vice President, Marketing & Communications 202-662-4432 maura.nelson@ciab.com For Immediate Release THE COUNCIL PRAISES HOUSE PASSAGE OF SURPLUS LINES REFORM LEGISLATION WASHINGTON, D.C - The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers praised the U.S. House of Representatives today for passage of H.R. 2571, the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act, a major step toward modernizing the insurance regulatory system by providing a uniform approach to regulating the commercial surplus lines market. The bill was authored by Reps. Dennis Moore, D-Kan., and Scott Garrett, R-N.J – and supported by the leadership of the Financial Services Committee. "Adopting this reform legislation is a practical solution to longtime marketplace problems," said Council President Ken A. Crerar. "The result will be lower costs to insurance consumers and greater access to affordable products." "The Council thanks Congressmen Moore and Garrett for their continued leadership and perseverance on this important legislation," Crerar said. "We are also enormously grateful for Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., Ranking Member Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., and Subcommittee Chairman Paul Kanjorski, D-Penn., for their strong leadership and support for modernizing the surplus lines market. This result could not have been achieved today without their active support and willingness to move this legislation forward at a very busy time for Congress.” More than 25 percent of commercial insurance in the United States is placed in the surplus lines market, also known as the nonadmitted insurance marketplace. Replacing the existing complicated quilt of state regulations with a uniform approach under which the rules of the insureds' home state apply in the case of multistate placements is a tremendous advantage in providing Americans quality insurance products. By freeing up access to capital, the bill enables increased access to surplus lines insurance in both coastal and non-coastal areas without any reduction in substantive scope of consumer protection. Without the reforms provided by the bill, access to capital is tight, the surplus lines marketplace is diminished, and corporate consumers that need insurance coverage to build their businesses and the economy are unable to do so. The bill now moves to the Senate, where it was introduced on June 25 by Sens. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., Mel Martinez, R-Fla., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Bill Nelson, D-Fla. "We thank all of the lawmakers who have made this bill a priority in this especially busy season," Crerar said. "This item has been on our legislative agenda for some time, and we look forward to its swift consideration in the Senate, whether by itself or as a part of broader regulatory reform efforts. The surplus lines legislation has the broadest stakeholder support of any insurance regulatory reform legislation before Congress, including support from commercial consumers and virtually the entire industry, including large and small agencies and insurers. Perhaps most impressively, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners has been very constructively engaged in this process, and NAIC leaders acknowledge that the surplus lines provisions of this legislation are necessary in order to achieve the long-desired creation of an interstate compact to govern multi-state surplus lines transactions. We are grateful to everyone who has played a role in achieving this impressive result today, and we are determined to get it over the finish line of enactment in this session of Congress.” Founded in 1913, The Council is the premier association for commercial insurance and employee benefits intermediaries. The Council represents the leading commercial brokers and agents in the United States and abroad. Council members annually place 80 percent of all commercial property/casualty premiums in the United States and administer billions of dollars in employee benefits accounts. www.ciab.com
NEWS RELEASE - September 9, 2009 Contact: Maura Nelson Vice President, Marketing & Communications 202-662-4432 maura.nelson@ciab.com For Immediate Release
THE COUNCIL PRAISES HOUSE PASSAGE OF SURPLUS LINES REFORM LEGISLATION WASHINGTON, D.C - The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers praised the U.S. House of Representatives today for passage of H.R. 2571, the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act, a major step toward modernizing the insurance regulatory system by providing a uniform approach to regulating the commercial surplus lines market. The bill was authored by Reps. Dennis Moore, D-Kan., and Scott Garrett, R-N.J – and supported by the leadership of the Financial Services Committee. "Adopting this reform legislation is a practical solution to longtime marketplace problems," said Council President Ken A. Crerar. "The result will be lower costs to insurance consumers and greater access to affordable products." "The Council thanks Congressmen Moore and Garrett for their continued leadership and perseverance on this important legislation," Crerar said. "We are also enormously grateful for Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., Ranking Member Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., and Subcommittee Chairman Paul Kanjorski, D-Penn., for their strong leadership and support for modernizing the surplus lines market. This result could not have been achieved today without their active support and willingness to move this legislation forward at a very busy time for Congress.” More than 25 percent of commercial insurance in the United States is placed in the surplus lines market, also known as the nonadmitted insurance marketplace. Replacing the existing complicated quilt of state regulations with a uniform approach under which the rules of the insureds' home state apply in the case of multistate placements is a tremendous advantage in providing Americans quality insurance products. By freeing up access to capital, the bill enables increased access to surplus lines insurance in both coastal and non-coastal areas without any reduction in substantive scope of consumer protection. Without the reforms provided by the bill, access to capital is tight, the surplus lines marketplace is diminished, and corporate consumers that need insurance coverage to build their businesses and the economy are unable to do so. The bill now moves to the Senate, where it was introduced on June 25 by Sens. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., Mel Martinez, R-Fla., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Bill Nelson, D-Fla. "We thank all of the lawmakers who have made this bill a priority in this especially busy season," Crerar said. "This item has been on our legislative agenda for some time, and we look forward to its swift consideration in the Senate, whether by itself or as a part of broader regulatory reform efforts. The surplus lines legislation has the broadest stakeholder support of any insurance regulatory reform legislation before Congress, including support from commercial consumers and virtually the entire industry, including large and small agencies and insurers. Perhaps most impressively, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners has been very constructively engaged in this process, and NAIC leaders acknowledge that the surplus lines provisions of this legislation are necessary in order to achieve the long-desired creation of an interstate compact to govern multi-state surplus lines transactions. We are grateful to everyone who has played a role in achieving this impressive result today, and we are determined to get it over the finish line of enactment in this session of Congress.”
Founded in 1913, The Council is the premier association for commercial insurance and employee benefits intermediaries. The Council represents the leading commercial brokers and agents in the United States and abroad. Council members annually place 80 percent of all commercial property/casualty premiums in the United States and administer billions of dollars in employee benefits accounts. www.ciab.com