Insurance agent groups have been dueling on The Hill over regulatory reform.
Robert Rusbuldt, chief executive of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, Alexandria, Va., recently faced off in the closely read Capitol Hill paper against Peter Ludgin, executive director of Agents for Change, Washington.
Rusbuldt calls in his op-ed for "vigorous, but targeted" changes in the current state regulatory system.
The foundation would be a new version of the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers, a product of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999. Lawmakers formed NARAB in an effort to increase uniformity in state producer licensing.
"NARAB II," a new producer licensing entity described in Rusbuldt's op-ed, would be managed by a board that would include an independent agent and other insurance industry representatives as well as state insurance regulators.
"Agents and brokers comfortable with the current system and those licensed in one or a couple of states could choose to remain licensed in the traditional manner with no outside interference," Rusbuldt writes. "Producers operating in multiple jurisdictions unhappy with the current licensing burdens, however, could opt for NARAB and the ease of national licensing through a self-regulatory organization (SRO)-type entity separate and apart from the federal government."
