The U.S. House of Representatives has passed H.R. 2571, the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act of 2009.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kan.) and Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.), addresses surplus lines regulation and reinsurance supervision.
Specifically, the legislation makes the insured’s home state the source of regulation for individual surplus lines transactions and seeks to reduce overlapping, multiple-state regulation of ceding insurers.
“By applying single-state regulation and uniform standards to the nonadmitted and reinsurance markets, this bill, along with giving the state sole regulatory authority, will strengthen the state-based insurance regulatory system,” Tom Koonce, AVP for federal government affairs for the
Koonce noted that similar legislation passed the House in previous congressional sessions with overwhelming support from both sides of the aisle. “The Big “I” believes that such strong bipartisan congressional and near-unanimous industry support proves that this model of limited reform is the appropriate and most practical approach to modernize insurance regulation.”
Sens. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) and Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) are the sponsors of S.1363, a companion bill currently advancing in the Senate.
