"While positive changes to H.R. 2609 were implemented throughout the committee process which made the bill slightly less onerous, PIA nevertheless believes that creating a federal insurance office is a bad idea, not a good one,” said PIA National Executive Vice President & CEO Leonard C. Brevik. “It is certainly not something that should be cheered by independent insurance agents.”
“Creation of an FIO greatly increases the possibility that this office will be used by advocates of federal insurance regulation to advance their goals,” Brevik said. “In fact, this bill was amended during the committee mark-up by advocates of optional federal charters to require that the newly-created FIO conduct a study of federal insurance regulation. This would put the FIO itself in the position of recommending to Congress whether the power to regulate insurance should be taken from the states and its own authority expanded. PIA continues to work with House members to ensure that any assigned study on insurance regulation is done in a non-partisan, unbiased way.”
“A death by a thousand cuts is still a death,” Brevik said. “For proponents of state regulation of insurance, passage of H.R. 2609 is not a cause for celebration.”