Market Regulation and Consumer Affairs (D) Committee

The following task forces and working groups report to the Market Regulation and Consumer Affairs (D) Committee:

• Antifraud Task Force
• Consumer Connections Working Group
• Consumer Disclosures Working Group
• Market Actions Working Group
• Market Information Systems Task Force
• Market Analysis Procedures Working Group
• Market Conduct Examination Standards Working Group
• Social Media Working Group

The mission of the Market Regulation and Consumer Affairs (D) Committee is to monitor all aspects of the market regulatory process for continuous improvement. This includes market analysis, regulatory interventions with companies, and multi-jurisdictional collaboration. The Committee will also review and make recommendations regarding the underwriting and market practices of insurers and producers as those practices affect insurance consumers, including the availability and affordability of insurance.

Ongoing Support of NAIC Programs, Products or Services:

1. Provide policy recommendations regarding centralized collection and storage of market conduct data, national analysis and reporting at the NAIC. Monitor implementation, with a specific focus on confidentiality and public availability of data.—Essential

2. Monitor and assess the current process for multi-jurisdictional market conduct activities and provide appropriate recommendations for enhancement, as necessary.—Essential

3. Oversee the activities of the Market Information Systems (D) Task Force.—Essential

4. Oversee the activities of the Antifraud (D) Task Force.—Essential

5. Appoint a Market Actions (D) Working Group of 16 individuals to facilitate interstate communication and coordinate collaborative state regulatory actions.—Essential

6. Appoint a Market Conduct Examination Standards (D) Working Group to develop market conduct examination standards.—Essential

7. Appoint a Consumer Connections (D) Working Group to: 1) Provide a forum for dialogue among the state consumer service representatives to share best practices and enhance consumer advocacy efforts; 2) Provide a forum for dialogue among state consumer service representatives, consumer groups, regulators and the industry regarding current marketplace issues; 3) Advance recommendations to the Market Regulation and Consumer Affairs (D) Committee for further interaction with appropriate technical working groups and receive tasks as assigned by the Committee.—Essential

8. Appoint a Consumer Disclosures (D) Working Group to: 1) Develop a work product outlining best practices and guidelines for use by state insurance regulators in developing information disclosures for insurance consumers. The product would include a discussion of situations in which consumer disclosures are appropriate and can reasonably be expected to address a market problem and/or empower consumers. The best practices and guidelines would address effective ways to create and deliver information disclosures and would be applicable across product lines; 2) Monitor state implementation of the Privacy Disclosure Model Bulletin; 3) Provide a recommendation on how to sunset the safe harbor of compliance with state privacy notice requirements through the use of the sample clauses in the NAIC Privacy of Consumer Financial and Health Information Regulation (#672); and 4) Assess consumers’ understanding of the standards of care associated with the sale of insurance products, as recommended by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in its report titled, “Consumer Finance,” which was issued in January 2011.—Essential

9. Monitor the underwriting and market practices of insurers and producers, as well as conditions of insurance marketplaces, including urban markets, to identify specific market conduct issues of importance and concern; hold a public hearing on these issues at the NAIC national meetings, as appropriate.—Important

10. In collaboration with other technical working groups, discuss and share best practices through public forums to address broad consumer concerns regarding personal insurance products.—Important

11. Coordinate with the International Insurance Relations (EX) Leadership Group to develop input and submit comments to the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) and/or other related groups on issues regarding market regulation concepts.—Important

12. Appoint a Social Media (D) Working Group to: 1) Develop a white paper on how insurance companies and producers use social media in the business of insurance; 2) Identify regulatory and compliance issues that might arise through the use of social media in insurance; and 3) Provide guidance on how to address any identified regulatory and compliance issues.—Important

13. Appoint a Limited Medical Benefit Plan (B/D) Working Group—a joint working group of the Market Regulation and Consumer Affairs (D) Committee and the Health Insurance and Managed Care (B) Committee—to coordinate efforts and review issues related to limited medical benefit plans, including: 1) misrepresentation in sales and marketing; 2) product utility; and 3) authorized and unauthorized agents. The Working Group shall develop recommendations to address concerns and issues addressed during the review.—Important

New Objectives and Goals (representing new NAIC programs, services or initiatives):

1. Coordinate with the Health Insurance (B) Committee to provide policy recommendations regarding uniform state enforcement of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).—Essential

2. Appoint a Regulatory Information Retrieval System (D) Working Group to review the coding structure for the NAIC’s Regulatory Information Retrieval System and provide recommended changes to the coding structure.—Important

NAIC Support Staff: Timothy D. Mullen/Craig L. Leonard