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Regulators, insurers and a consumer representative recently discussed what direction the work on streamlining and coordinating market conduct processes should take.
The conversation, part of an effort of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, was mainly conceptual, with detail work to follow later.
The working draft of the market analysis program draft document outlines the purpose, focal point and data sources for regulators' market conduct efforts.
During the discussion, Birny Birnbaum, executive director with the Center for Economic Justice in Austin, Texas, said the document needs to focus on identifying general business practices that harm consumers. The point was generally agreed upon.
Joel Ario, Oregon insurance commissioner and chair of the ad hoc market analysis working group, agreed with a point raised that market analysis and coordinating regulatory responses to problems should be looked at separately.
Ario said that as an approach to gathering data for market conduct purposes is developed, it is important to request data that will be useful. He said in Oregon, for example, efforts have been made to eliminate unnecessary market conduct data reports.
