Longtime Insurance Advocate to Leave Congress

The former chairman of a key congressional subcommittee has announced he is resigning to take a job managing a trade group representing hedge funds.

Rep. Richard H. Baker, R-La., chaired the House Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee in the 107th, 108th, and 109th sessions of Congress. In the 110th Congress, he lost to Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., in his bid to become the full committee's ranking member.

An 11-term member of the House, Baker is credited with crafting the State Modernization and Regulatory Transparency Act, or SMART Act. Elements of the SMART Act have been adapted as the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act, which NAMIC strongly supports and continues to lobby for heavily. The bill has twice passed the U.S. House unanimously, but not yet in the Senate.

“We were sorry to hear of the resignation of Richard Baker from Congress,” said Marliss McManus, NAMIC’s senior federal affairs director and a former staff member of the Financial Services Committee. “As a leader on many insurance issues, Representative Baker was the voice of common sense on insurance reform, as well as terrorism risk insurance and flood reform. As one of the most thoughtful and articulate members of the House, he will be sorely missed.”

Direct questions to NAMIC's Senior Federal Affairs Director Marliss McManus.

Posted: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 12:00:00 AM. Modified: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 1:09:00 PM.

(317) 875-5250 - Indianapolis | (202) 628-1558 - Washington, D.C.

Contact NAMIC | Press | Advertise | Sponsor

We are 1,400 property/casualty insurance companies serving more than 135 million auto, home and business policyholders, with more than $196 billion in premiums accounting for 50 percent of the automobile/homeowners market and 31 percent of the business insurance market. We are the largest and most diverse property/casualty trade association in the country, with regional and local mutual insurance companies on main streets across America joining many of the country’s largest national insurers who also call NAMIC their home. More than 200,000 people are employed by NAMIC members.