Big I Clashes With Federal Charter Group

"The reaction of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America to our June 13 letter expressing broad industry support for an insurance federal charter option is disappointing and inaccurate," the OFCC says in a statement released by the American Bankers Association, Washington. An ABA offshoot, the American Bankers Insurance Association, did most of the work in developing the letter and getting financial services companies to sign it.

"It is beyond dispute that major restructuring of the insurance regulatory framework is long overdue and that the status quo is no longer a viable option," the OFCC says in the statement. "The rigid confines of the past work to the disadvantage of our customers and deny companies, agents and brokers the flexibility they need to compete effectively in today's marketplace…. Indeed, insurance regulatory reform must be driven by the needs of our customers and by the demands of operational efficiency. The optional federal charter initiative does just that."

Robert Rusbuldt, the Big I's chief executive, says the trade group "strongly denies any inaccuracies in our characterization of optional federal regulation or the Oxley/Baker SMART proposal."

In fact, Rusbuldt says, "we agree with the OFCC statement that, 'Indeed, insurance regulatory reform must be driven by the needs of our customers and by the demands of operational efficiency.'"

But "we disagree with the OFCC on the means to obtain this goal," Rusbuldt says. "We believe that targeted federal reform of the state system, proposed and supported by Chairman Oxley and Chairman Baker in the SMART Act proposal, makes much more sense for insurance consumers and for bringing about immediate efficiency in our regulatory system.

"Although we agree on the goals, because we disagree on the means to obtain those goals, it appears that the OFCC has made a false allegation that we are inaccurate. This is not about the number of supporters vs. opponents since agents and regional companies overwhelmingly oppose federal regulation of insurance. However, independent agents strongly support reform of the current system."