NAMIC Welcomes Regulatory Certainty Provision in CFPB Reform Bill

The National Association of Mutual Insurance companies welcomed a vote today by the House Financial Services Committee to refocus the mission of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and protect state insurance regulation.

“State regulators have been serving insurance consumers for more than 150 years with a deeper understanding of the risks facing their state, and the needs of consumers,” said Jimi Grande, senior vice president of federal and political affairs for NAMIC. “Protecting this system from federal overreach is paramount to a competitive marketplace that best serves consumers.”

The CFPB was established through the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, which sought to ensure greater oversight of financial markets following the 2008 financial crisis. The law explicitly puts insurance regulation outside the CFPB’s jurisdiction, but the bureau has blurred the lines of its boundaries – like in 2023 when it issued an advisory on homeowners insurance. Overreach in Washington creates an uncertain environment that ultimately raises costs. The bill approved today by the committee would reinforce the limits on the bureau and prevent any regulatory confusion by clearly stating that it must defer to state regulators on insurance matters.

“The CFPB isn’t the first federal agency to try expand its authority, and it probably won’t be the last,” Grande said. “When federal agencies stray outside their lane, Congress can and should put down guardrails.”