Commissioners Fight New NAIFA Policy

Moreover, Woods says, he is concerned about regulators attempting to influence those they regulate. He adds that many of the statements made in the resolution are incorrect. For example, Woods says, the very first line of NAIFA's policy re-emphasizes its strong support for state regulation.

Woods says, however, that the controversy demonstrates how influential an organization NAIFA is, in that NAIFA's policy stirred some commissioners to take this type of action.

The resolution says NAIFA's policy represents a "significant reversal" of the association's full support for state insurance regulation and a significant departure from the position of other national associations of professional insurance producers. The other associations fully support state regulation and are strongly opposed to creation of a federal insurance regulator or optional federal charter, the resolution says.

NAIFA's policy, the resolution adds, may have the effect of undermining the support and implementation of the NAIC's Action Plan for Regulatory Modernization.

NAIFA adopted its policy at its January 2004, board meeting, citing changing dynamics in the life insurance industry as the reason it is now considering a federal role in insurance regulation.

If properly enacted, NAIFA says, federal legislation could create a national producers license, a single point-of-entry for insurance products that would increase speed-to-market and a federal insurance advocate who could address the needs of consumers and the industry on a national level.