NAMIC Voices Support for Bill to Protect State Regulatory Authority Over Insurance

Legislation to protect the state-based system of insurance regulation from federal encroachment by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will help avoid regulatory confusion and needless costs, the National Association of Mutal Insurance Companies said today.

Introduced in the House by Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., and by Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, R-S.C., in the upper chamber, the Business of Insurance Regulatory Reform Act clarifies that state regulators are best positioned to oversee the insurance industry and reasserts the jurisdictional boundaries set by Congress in the Dodd-Frank Act.

“State regulators are accountable to consumers and best know their communities, laws, and markets. Congress tried to make it clear in establishing the CFPB that the states, not the bureau, have authority over the insurance industry,” said Jimi Grande, senior vice president of federal and political affairs for NAMIC. “Unfortunately, as is all too common in Washington, the bureau has tried to overstep its limits and expand its powers. The Business of Insurance Regulatory Reform Act will reassert those boundaries and ensure a better system for American consumers. NAMIC applauds Senator Scott and Representative Steil for their continued work to protect our nation’s state-based system of insurance regulation.”

Prior to the bill’s introduction, NAMIC sent a letter of support to Scott and co-signed an industry-wide letter to both sponsors.