A senior member of the House Financial Services Committee (FSC) today asked the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) to conduct a comprehensive review of the operations and structure of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).
The review is needed, Rep. Edward Royce, R-Calif. said, as a "necessary" threshold step "prior to having a comprehensive discussion on the future of U.S. insurance regulation" because the NAIC "currently labels itself" the "home of U.S. insurance regulation."
He said that he has observed over the years that he has been in Congress, that the insurance regulatory regime in this country is "out of date and inefficient, and the heart of that system is the NAIC."
Royce requested the review in a letter delivered today to Michael McRaith, FIO director.
He said NAIC practices are problematic from a legal perspective as well as from a good governance perspective.
"If they were a federal regulatory agency, there would be checks on their budget and their operations," Royce explained.
"Unfortunately, very few checks exist today on the NAIC," he added.
"This is a pot that needs some stirring and we're appreciative of Congressman Royce's activism on these issues. The truth is that as the federal OFC debate has faded, there is a need for these kinds of questions to be asked. The transparency issues, in particular, have persisted at the NAIC and arguably gotten worse, " said Joel Wood, senior vice president for the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, Washington.
NAIC officials in Washington confirmed that they had received the letter, but said they would have no comment.
