NAIFA Endorses Optional Federal Chartering

NAIFA President Randy Kilgore says that although NAIFA supports state regulation, the changing dynamics of the financial services industry in the 21st century compel the association to be open-minded about all promising options for improving insurance regulation.

"NAIFA believes that the federal government could, with our input, bring about much-needed improvement to insurance regulation, for the benefit of consumers and the insurance industry," Kilgore says.

If properly enacted, regulatory reform could produce important benefits, NAIFA says, including an optional national producer's license, a single point of entry for insurance products to increase speed-to-market, and a federal insurance advocate who can address the needs of consumers and the industry on a national level.

The federal advocate can provide industry expertise when Congress and the executive branch consider insurance issues, NAIFA says.

"We hope these factors will lower the costs of regulatory compliance, make the introduction of new products easier and improve the industry's ability to access new sources of capital," NAIFA Chief Executive Officer David Woods says.