National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) 2015 Summer Meeting Preview

 

The National Conference of Insurance Legislators will hold its 2015 Summer Meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana from July 16 through July 19.  

Along with various committee meetings, several special programs are scheduled for Friday, July 17, highlighted by a workshop on the insurance implications of medical marijuana presented by NCOIL’s Institute for Insurance Policy.

A general session the same day will cover Affordable Care Act Network Adequacy, followed by a special Property-Casualty Committee meeting on whether insurance data mining is a sound business practice or unfairly discriminatory.  Telemedicine regulation and life insurance are also the topics of special forums. 

To view the complete agenda, click here.

Published in advance of the Summer Meeting, NCOIL’s most recent newsletter featured written opinions on Transportation Network Companies (“TNCs”) from various factions of that industry, including insurance.   Notable was an editorial opinion on the TNC “Compromise Model” from Robert C. Passmore, CPCU, who serves as Property Casualty Insurers Association of America Assistant Vice President for Personal Lines Policy.  He wrote, in part:

“The TNC Compromise model will look very familiar to all and we believe that it provides reasonable and workable requirements for TNCs and their drivers and provides insurers with the ability to make sound underwriting and pricing decisions.  We believe it will also create an environment where TNC services will thrive and also facilitate development of a robust insurance market for this new business model. As of today, 16 states have passed legislation most of which came after the compromise agreement. As the clear path to support innovation and protect consumers is before us, we urge you to support the TNC Compromise Model.”

To read the entire forum, click here.

Additional topics scheduled to be taken up by the various committees include, among others:

• Transparency and accountability related to international insurance issues
• “Storm Chaser” regulation and roofing contractor fraud
• TNCs and ridesharing
• NCOIL’s Professional Employer Organization (“PEO”) Model Act

Below are summaries of various meeting topics and hyperlinks to their accompanying materials.  To view the complete materials package, click here.

 

International Insurance Issues Committee and International Insurance Issues Task Force

During a joint Committee/Task Force meeting on July 16, legislators will consider a proposed Resolution entitled “Support of Federal Legislation that Supports Transparency, Accountability, and the U.S. System of State-Based Insurance Regulation,” co-sponsored by Committee Chair and Vermont State Representative Bill Botzow and Task Force Chair Louisiana Senator Dan “Blade” Morrish. 

The proposed resolution furthers NCOIL initiatives to preserve state-based insurance regulatory oversight and highlights the success of the U.S. insurance regulatory system, noting its transparency and inclusiveness.  The proposed resolution also supports federal legislation S. 1086, the International Insurance Capital Standards Accountability Act of 2015, and H.R. 2141, the International Insurance Standards Transparency Act. 

 

Property-Casualty Insurance Committee

Storm Chaser Model Act/Roofing Fraud

On July 18, the Property-Casualty Insurance Committee will consider a proposed Model entitled the “Storm Chaser Consumer Protection Act,” co-sponsored by Arizona Senator Jason Rapert and Georgia State Representative Rich Golick.   

The proposed model would establish minimum standards for roofing contracts and would:

(1) require various disclosures, including an approximate cost estimate;
(2) allow a consumer to cancel the contract if the consumer’s insurer denies all or part of the claim;
(3) require a contractor to return any payments or deposits that the consumer made to the contractor except for cost of providing emergency services if the consumer cancels the contract;
(4) require contractors to maintain certain insurance coverages;
(5) establish contractor prohibitions, penalties, and licensing requirements; and
(6) allow certain exemptions.

Revised from a 2015 Spring Meeting version, the proposed Model would now use contractor registration fees to help fund its enforcement, as well as streamline the registration process for contractors who are registered in good standing in another state.  It also would add enforcement provisions, among other changes. 

Transportation Network Companies/Ridesharing

On July 18 and July 19, the Property-Casualty Committee will consider a proposed Model Act to regulate insurance requirements for TNCs and transportation network drivers, sponsored by Ohio State Representative Michael Stinziano.  The proposed model is similar to a new Indiana law that incorporates provisions found in an Uber/property-casualty insurer “compromise” approach being circulated in the states as advocated by the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America. 

The draft NCOIL model would require primary auto liability insurance purchased by the TNC driver and/or by the TNC to cover (1) the period in which the TNC driver is logged into the TNC’s online system and is available to receive a transportation request and (2) the period during which the TNC driver is transporting a rider.  Automobile insurers could also exclude personal-lines coverage for losses that take place during those periods. 

The draft Model also would require certain disclosures to TNC drivers, as well as require a TNC to have a permit from a state before it could operate there, would establish rules on who could serve as a TNC driver and, among other provisions, would specify that a TNC may meet its insurance requirements by purchasing coverage through an insurer that is highly rated.

 

Workers’ Compensation Insurance Committee

On July 16, the Workers’ Compensation Committee will discuss state PEO requirements as related to provisions in a 2007 NCOIL Model Act entitled “Workers’ Compensation Insurance Coverage in Professional Employer Organization (PEO) Relationships” to help determine the extent to which NCOIL-based requirements exist throughout the country. 

Discussion will build on May 4 conference call of the Committee’s PEO Task Force, during which legislators and interested parties identified three areas that may warrant additional Committee consideration:  solvency, lines of responsibility and timing as it relates to how entering/leaving a PEO relationship may impact a PEO client’s workers’ compensation coverage.

NCOIL’s PEO Task Force was created during the 2015 Spring Meeting in response to concerns over proposed amendments to the NCOIL model.  As adopted, the NCOIL model requires PEO registration and establishes that workers’ compensation insurance premiums are determined by using a PEO client’s risk exposure and claims experience.  

 

Special Sessions

Affordable Care Act Network Adequacy:   What’s Next for States?

On July 17, legislators will hear expert insight on Affordable Care Act-related network adequacy requirements, including how state requirements differ; what can be done to balance costs, quality and access; what information consumers need and where should they receive it; and how network adequacy affects contracting between health plans and providers/facilities.  Panelists also will discuss how the federal government should interact in that equation.   The session will include perspectives from American’s Health Insurance Plans, the American Heart Association, American Medical Association and, speaking on behalf of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”), a representative from the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance.

A Question of Suitability:  What Makes Life Insurance Products Well-Matched for a Consumer?

On July 18, legislators will explore what criteria should be used to determine suitability, how state regulation has evolved, whether states are doing enough and what steps life insurers are taking towards suitability.   The session also will look at the impact of changing markets and new products, as well as provide perspectives from the American Council of Life Insurers, Center for Insurance Research, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Insurance Retirement Institute, Iowa Insurance Division/NAIC and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors.

 

 

Should you have any questions or comments, please contact Colodny Fass.

 

 

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