Advocacy in action blog

Lawmakers in California, and particularly in the city of Los Angeles, know the importance of life insurance and understand the critical work financial professionals do. NAIFA-Los Angeles has been key to their education. For the past 20 consecutive years, NAIFA-Los Angeles members, including the chapter’s Past President Gilbert Mares, LUTCF,  Grassroots Chair Jose Rodriguez, and President Alvin Parra, have worked with Los Angeles Mayors and members of the City Council to have September proclaimed Life Insurance Awareness Month. They have also been instrumental in getting similar proclamations issued by the state Senate and the County of Los Angeles.

NAIFA strongly supports newly introduced legislation, the Protecting Innovation in Investment Act sponsored by U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), that would foster the use of technology and innovation in the financial services industry to benefit consumers. 

NAIFA supports a bill in Maryland that would eliminate a pre-licensing education requirement for people applying to take the state's insurance license exams. The mandated courses are unnecessary and burdensome and they do a disservice to those pursuing an insurance career in Maryland as well as consumers. 

NAIFA members in Washington state and across the country have dedicated their careers to ensuring their clients are well-prepared for retirement. Financial professionals offer a robust variety of products and services, working with employers and employees, alike, to provide retirement security options.

When it comes to preparing for retirement, having choices matters. Congress, in recent years, has passed landmark legislation encouraging Americans to invest in their futures and save for retirement while giving them greater flexibility and more planning options. Now more than ever Americans need retirement planning assistance.

NAIFA members in a recent survey overwhelmingly said that the Department of Labor’s fiduciary-only proposal for retirement planning services would increase the costs of serving clients. That sentiment is borne out on a macro level by a new Financial Services Institute study conducted by Oxford Economics, which found that the rule would cost financial services firms $2.7 billion in the first year with continuing annual costs of $2.5 billion. These figures are more than six times the upfront costs and nearly 11 times the ongoing costs estimated by the DOL.

Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-SC) cited NAIFA's support in a press release announcing legislation designed to protect the state-based regulatory regime of the insurance industry. The bill, known as the Business of Insurance Regulatory Reform Act, would clarify and reinforce sections of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to exclude "the business of insurance" from regulation by the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It would shore up federal laws that give state regulators exclusive authority to regulate insurance.

State-based regulation of insurance has been a bedrock of the industry and effectively protects the interests of consumers. Federal law, including Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, recognizes this fact and explicitly exempts the business of insurance from regulation by federal Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (BCFP).

NAIFA and a coalition of groups representing a majority of the U.S. companies and agents offering property-casualty, title, and life insurance have asked Congress for additional legislation that would clarify provisions in Dodd-Frank and solidify the state-based system of insurance regulation.

NAIFA appreciates the work of a bipartisan group of federal lawmakers who oppose the Department of Labor’s proposed “Retirement Security” rule that would require a fiduciary-only model for financial services.

Representatives French Hill (R-AR) and David Scott (D-GA) and forty-eight of their colleagues in the House signed a letter to acting DOL Secretary Julie Su and Assistant Secretary Lisa Gomez asking the Department to withdraw its proposal.

NAIFA strongly urges the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to reconsider a proposal that would change the compensation rules for professionals providing products and services related to Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D programs.

NAIFA members help millions of individuals and employers administer and utilize Medicare plan options as well as other health plans. They are a vital part of the plan-selection process and serve as expert resources for consumers considering their Medicare plan options or looking for specific drugs and services to be covered. Agents and brokers educate clients on how Medicare works, research physician networks and prescription formularies for the plans to ensure a suitable health and drug plan is recommended, and review plan-comparison and enrollment changes annually.