PCI Reacts to Senator Dodd’s Regulatory Reform Bill

David A. Sampson, president and CEO of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI), issued the following statement in response to the new draft financial services regulatory reform bill released today by Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-CT) of the Senate Banking Committee:

Source: Source: PCI | Published on March 18, 2010

"We appreciate the hard work of Chairman Dodd, his colleagues and his staff.

"But we had hoped more issues could have been resolved before the bill was introduced. We are concerned over many provisions in the bill, such as subjecting state regulated insurers to a duplicative federal resolution and assessment authority, a systemic resolution council where the insurance representative is the only non-regulator, and a national insurance office that duplicates state oversight.

“Property casualty insurance is not systemically risky, and has been strong and stable throughout the financial crisis. Our industry honors our promise to policyholders. The proposed duplicative regulation for the property casualty industry would only add red tape, kill more jobs and ultimately hurt our customers.

“Consumers come first in the property casualty insurance sector. We already have an effective, proven resolution process at the state level that protects insurance policyholders through the existing system of state guaranty funds, which provides greater consumer protections than the Senate bill’s proposal. Homeowners, motorists and business owners have peace of mind that their policies will be paid, even in the unlikely event of a company insolvency.

“We look forward to working with the chairman, his colleagues and his staff as the bill moves forward. We remain dedicated to protecting consumers and promoting the viability of a competitive property casualty insurance marketplace.”