NAIFA State Government Relations Manager, Bianca Alonso Weiss, attended NCOIL’s Annual Fall Meeting on November 21-23, where she had the opportunity to strengthen NAIFA’s relationships with state legislators and industry trade partners, as well as advocate for key priorities affecting NAIFA members. Several NCOIL sessions discussed topics of interest to NAIFA.
During the Life Insurance and Financial Planning Committee, Michael Gugig, U.S. General Counsel of Assured Allies, presented Assured Allies Wellness Program Innovations in the Long-Term Care Insurance Marketplace. The goal of the wellness program is to help policyholders age in place independently in their homes.
The Committee considered proposed amendments to the NCOIL Life Settlements Model Act. Representative Bennett (OK) proposed minor technical amendments to the model. The Committee unanimously amended and readopted the Model.
Karen Schutter, Executive Director of Interstate Insurance Regulation Commission (IIPRC), reported 46 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico were involved in the IIPRC. She said New York, California, and Florida did not participate, and that there was hope South Carolina would rejoin. She said the IIPRC promoted uniformity, helped states build robust standards, and had collected and remitted millions of dollars in filing fees to the participating states. Schutter praised NCOIL for being a good partner.
During the Financial Services & Multi-Line Issues Committee, the NCOIL Insurance Fraud Model Act was unanimously readopted. The Committee also considered the NCOIL Transparency in Third Party Litigation Financing Model Act. Representative Lehman (IN) said the model aimed to keep bad actors out of third-party litigation funding and stop the U.S. judicial system from being an investment venue. He said he sought to exclude foreign investors. He said that, on the commercial side, he wanted to ensure funders had no access to proprietary data and had no say in the path of a suit. He said he also sought disclosure of the contents of the funding agreements. Sen. Felzkowski (WI) introduced an amendment to broaden the definition of a commercial litigation financing agreement. Del. Westfall (WV) said West Virginia had enacted a broader version of the bill. He said he believed Sen. Felzkowski’s amendment would strengthen the model. The Committee unanimously amended and adopted the Model as amended.
During the NAIC-NCOIL Dialogue, there was a recap on the NAIC meeting that concluded a few days before. Current NAIC President, Commissioner Mais referenced the impact of the extended low-interest rate environment and the need for regulators to understand what was happening in financial markets. He said the NAIC was focused on artificial intelligence and cyber security. He said a diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) leadership forum had focused on access to healthcare for tribal members and Alaska natives. He said the NAIC had amended its public adjuster licensing model in line with a model NCOIL had adopted earlier in the year.
Commissioner Mulready provided an update on the NAIC’s Data Privacy Protection Model Law. The NAIC paused work on developing a new draft model due to a lack of consensus and was focused on updating Model 672.
NAIFA Staff Contact: Bianca Alonso Weiss – State Government Relations Manager – at bweiss@naifa.org