AIA Focused on Several Issues at NCOIL Meeting

The American Insurance Association (AIA) will be focused on issues concerning insurers’ use of credit information, state natural catastrophe funds and protection of confidential insurer data during the summer meeting of the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) July 10-13 in New York.

NCOIL will consider a resolution supporting state regulation of the use of credit information in personal lines, noting that 26 states have adopted NCOIL’s insurance scoring model act in some form.

“NCOIL’s model has been a reasonable approach to regulating insurers’ use of credit information,” said Raymond Farmer, AIA assistant vice president, Southeast Region. “Consumers are protected, and insurers are allowed to use a tool that has proven to be valuable in accurately underwriting personal lines. The result is a majority of consumers benefit from the use of credit-based insurance scores.”

State legislators will also discuss a resolution opposing a plan by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to use the annual statement filed by insurers for centralizing the collection and dissemination of insurer market conduct data.

“We support NCOIL’s resolution opposing the NAIC plan,” said Farmer. “We share NCOIL’s concerns with the NAIC’s authority to collect this market conduct data, the unnecessary costs involved and the NAIC’s inability to protect the confidentiality the data.”

A resolution to consider a new approach to state catastrophe funds and federal mega-disaster assistance was considered by NCOIL today, but did not pass.

“We are pleased this resolution failed. We oppose any government approaches that undermine efforts to reduce risk and discourage personal responsibility,” said Eric Goldberg, AIA associate general counsel-manager, state programs. “We also observe that these approaches do not require a state cat fund to have any ‘skin in the game’ – states would be encouraged to create new, thinly-financed catastrophe funds whose deficits would ultimately be repaid by individual and corporate taxpayers.”