Advocacy in action blog

NAIFA along with five other organizations has sent a letter to Congress asking legislators to support the Insured Retirement Institute’s (IRI) five-point plan to help retirement savers recover from losses caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. NAIFA has worked with IRI to promote the plan and garner support in Congress.

One part of the COVID 19 federal relief package known as the CARES Act is the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which allows individuals and small businesses to obtain loans for the purpose of paying their employees during the crisis. Repayment of these loans may be forgiven if certain terms are met. If a securities firm obtains a PPP loan, must that fact be disclosed/reported to the firm’s clients?

As governments look to offset financial business losses resulting from COVID-19, some state legislatures have explored further exploiting the insurance industry by introducing bills addressing business interruption coverage. Business interruption coverage typically applies only to losses resulting from physical damage to property, such as that caused by a natural disaster, and generally inapplicable to losses caused by viral or bacterial pandemics.

NAIFA has joined a group of organizations asking Congress to ensure that 180 million Americans who receive health care coverage through workplace plans are able to continue receiving private health benefits in light of economic difficulties and job losses caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. The groups, including America’s Health Insurance Plans, the National African American Insurance Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and 28 others, sent a letter to congressional leadership with five specific policy recommendations:

The latest federal COVID-19 relief package, signed into law today, provides $484 billion in funding, including $310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, $50 billion for Economic Injury Disaster Loans, $75 billion for hospitals, and $25 billion for expanded COVID-19 testing.

Measures on small business loans, payroll taxes, and retirement accounts to provide relief to financial professionals and their clients.

Congress has passed the CARES Act, a $2 trillion economic stimulus and relief package designed to bolster Americans and the U.S. economy currently racked by the COVID-19 outbreak. The bill now goes to the White House, where President Trump is expected to sign it.

“NAIFA has advocated for measures to help small business owners and American workers weather the devastating financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are pleased to see many of the provisions we promoted included in the CARES Act,” said NAIFA CEO Kevin Mayeux. “Small business loans to cover short-term payroll and other expenses, which could be forgiven at a future date; payroll tax exemptions; and relief from retirement-account withdrawal requirements and early withdrawal penalties have been at the top of NAIFA’s advocacy agenda and will be crucial to many NAIFA members and their Main Street USA clients. We are very pleased to see these provisions included in the final bill.”

On March 26, NAIFA joined industry partners in a letter to Congressional leadership urging support for the inclusion of the Securing and Enabling Commerce Using Remote and Electronic Notarization Act (SECURE Notarization Act), in the legislative package from Congress intended to address the economic fallout from COVID-19. The bipartisan legislation (S. 5355, H.R. 6364) was introduced by Sens. Cramer (R-ND) and Warner (D-VA), and Reps. Reschenthaler (R-PA) and Dean (D-PA).

House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) is considering potential legislation which would create a Pandemic Risk Insurance Program similar to that of the program created by the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA). Chairwoman Waters’s proposal would be to create a temporary program that would provide a federal backstop for pandemic risk. This model would be very similar to the federal backstop that exists for terrorism risk through TRIA, but would deal with the Coronavirus pandemic instead.

The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) has a long history of working with lawmakers on the state and federal levels. Recent outreach to Congressional offices, state insurance commissioners, and state legislators offering assistance to lawmakers with constituents’ financial concerns has resulted in sincere appreciation.

The COVID-19 outbreak is disrupting the lives of families and the operations of businesses across the country. The impact on the economy and financial implications for Americans will certainly be substantial. At times like this, NAIFA’s advocacy influence and role as the voice of insurance and financial professionals is more important than ever. We are working on behalf of our members, the entire agent-advisor community, and Main Street USA consumers to help Congress find ways to lessen the impact of the outbreak.