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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NAIC
EMPHASIZES IMPORTANCE OF SBS IN STATE-BASED INSURANCE
REGULATION SAN ANTONIO (Dec. 9, 2006) - The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) announced its increased support for one of its strongest tools for state regulators, State Based Systems (SBS), today during the Association's Winter National Meeting in San Antonio. "State Based Systems should be a key part of the NAIC's overall membership strategy in the improvement of state-based insurance regulation," said Walter Bell, NAIC President-Elect and Alabama Insurance Commissioner. "That is made possible by offering uniformity and integration, which are both so very important in the preservation of state regulation." SBS serves as a back office processing system for producer licensing, company licensing, consumer services, enforcement, fraud, and revenue management. It includes sophisticated correspondence and document tracking, as well as flexible reporting and data-extract features. "SBS, used in conjunction with other NAIC technical offerings, can significantly reduce a state's financial and human resources by providing support for daily regulatory activities," said Julie Fritz, Director of the NAIC's Insurance Products and Services Division. "As a result, this leaves the state insurance department with more resources to devote to other initiatives, which oftentimes get pushed to the back burner." The NAIC offers SBS to state insurance departments as a benefit of membership in an effort to simplify and enhance state insurance regulation processes. "The NAIC leadership believes the SBS tool suite can
provide numerous benefits to every state, and strongly encourages all NAIC
members to consider leveraging yet another technology solution that is
available to them," The system also offers a variety of services that assist consumers in safely choosing insurance providers, and it provides insurance companies and producers with increased access to information and real-time tools that make the application and approval processes more efficient. "These services are online, self-help in nature and,
for the current states that use SBS, have not only streamlined application
and approval processes, but reduced the number of phone calls and letters
received by the department - all of which can be extremely time
consuming," "The external 'self-help' services offered via SBS have further reduced our workload by reducing the number of phone calls and letters we have to answer and process," said Roger Sevigny, NAIC Secretary-Treasurer and New Hampshire Commissioner of Insurance. "SBS has allowed our department to keep up with the growing demands placed on our staff. Ten years ago we had four people in our Producer Licensing Department, and they processed about 13,000 licenses. This year, still with four staff members, we are processing more than 45,000." "Member states have an ability to be influential in the future of SBS," Sevigny said. "Through the SBS business model, via the Licensee Group, we exchange ideas continuously with other regulators, learning how to make our own processes function more efficiently. This has played into enhancing our effectiveness as consumer protectors."
About the NAIC Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is a voluntary organization of the chief insurance regulatory officials of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the five U.S. territories. The NAIC's overriding objective is to assist state insurance regulators in protecting consumers and helping maintain the financial stability of the insurance industry by offering financial, actuarial, legal, computer, research, market conduct and economic expertise. Formed in 1871, the NAIC is the oldest association of state officials. For more than 135 years, state-based insurance supervision has served the needs of consumers, industry and the business of insurance at-large by ensuring hands-on, frontline protection for consumers, while providing insurers the uniform platforms and coordinated systems they need to compete effectively in an ever-changing marketplace. For more information, visit NAIC on the Web at: http://www.naic.org/press_home.htm
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2006 National Association of Insurance Commissioners. All rights reserved. | ||
