Indianapolis - When the Market Regulation & Consumer Affairs Committee at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' (NAIC) agreed to do no further work on a model law regulating the use of claims databases for underwriting purposes, the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC), Indianapolis, praised the decision. The decision by NAIC was made at the organization's winter meeting last week in Chicago
"The Committee's decision not to go forward with development of a model law on this issue is a welcome event," said Regulatory Affairs Counsel Marsha Harrison. "Underwriting freedom has been an important issue on NAMIC's State and Regulatory Affairs legislative agenda and remains a primary issue for 2006."
NAMIC, a full-service national trade association with more than 1,400 member companies, underwrites 43% ($196 billion) of the property/casualty insurance premium in the United States. Its members account for 44% of the homeowners market, 38% of the automobile market, 39% of the workers' compensation market, and 31% of the commercial property and liability market.
A year ago, then Committee Chair and Oregon Insurance Commissioner Joe Ario suggested the possibility of his committee examining the industry's use of claims databases such as Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange (CLUE). Ario suggested the NAIC might want to develop a model law regulating the use of such databases for underwriting purposes.
The committee held several discussions on CLUE in early 2005 and then conducted a public hearing at the NAIC summer meeting in Boston in June, taking testimony and comments from insurers, consumer representatives and vendors of claims database services.
At the committee wrap-up meeting, discussion of CLUE and the results of the public hearing were among the final items on the agenda. No one on the committee had any comments to make and, similarly, no one in the audience of interested parties offered any remarks. The current chair, Susan Voss of Iowa, indicated that the committee had no charge to work further on the project during 2006 and, there being no further discussion by the members of the committee, nothing further would be done.
"It seems that over the past six months, however, enthusiasm for the issue has faded," said Harrison.
Source: NAMIC
