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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NAIC STATEMENTS ON FIO MODERNIZATION REPORT
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Dec. 12, 2013) —The following are statements from NAIC President
and Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon and NAIC CEO Senator Ben
Nelson on the Federal Insurance Office Modernization Report:
We are pleased the Treasury Department continues to embrace the
state-based system of insurance regulation. We are in the process of
analyzing the report and the recommendations included.
Our members had an opportunity in December 2011 to sit down with the
director of FIO as his office was preparing the report to ensure that they
had adequate background to reflect the state regulator perspective. Like
the recent GAO report Insurance Markets During the Financial Crisis,
we note that it acknowledges the effectiveness of state-based insurance
regulation and the improvements states have made.
The timing of the report is fortuitous, as our membership will be
gathering for our Fall National Meeting in Washington, D.C. this weekend.
We will be discussing this report there, as well as with Secretary
Lew when we meet with him next week.
— Jim Donelon, NAIC
President and Louisiana Insurance Commissioner
State regulators – both
individually and collectively through the NAIC – are constantly working to
improve our national state-based system of insurance regulation. We will
add this report to our agenda for discussion when the full membership
gathers in DC for our National Meeting starting this weekend.
The Dodd-Frank Act established the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) within
the Treasury Department and makes clear that FIO is not a regulatory agency
and its authorities do not displace state insurance regulation. While
we appreciate FIO‘s suggestions for improvement, the states have the
ultimate responsibility for implementing regulatory changes.
The NAIC‘s deliberate, thoughtful, and transparent process has served
policyholders well for the past 140 years. In this regard, reports
such as this one as well as other comments provided by consumers, industry,
and governmental organizations as part of this process are always welcome
and are useful tools for assisting regulators in identifying areas that
require improvement.
— Senator Ben Nelson, NAIC
Chief Executive Officer
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