Shortly after Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson released his report endorsing an optional federal charter and calling for a federal insurance regulator, PIA issued a statement reaffirming our long-held position in opposition.

PIA has been preparing for this report going back to last October. PIA filed formal comments for the Treasury report, and had objected to the biased nature of the Treasury’s questions in its initial call for comments in November 2007, in a letter to Secretary Henry Paulson as well as a public media campaign. Since 2004, PIA’s policy committees have been working to advance PIA’s agenda of regulatory modernization that preserves state regulation of insurance. These efforts form PIA’s positive response to calls for federal regulation by demonstrating our path for modernization at the state level.
 
“The proposals unveiled today by Treasury Secretary Paulson are being billed as a strengthening of financial services regulation but in the case of the recommendations regarding insurance, the opposite is true,” said PIA National President Robert Page in our statement. “In reality, what is being proposed for insurance is more deregulation under the guise of strengthened regulation, along with a transfer of regulatory authority from the states to the federal government.”

“PIA is opposed to federal insurance regulation,” Page said. “PIA is on record in opposition to all proposals calling for Optional Federal Charters (OFC) and the creation of a federal insurance regulator. Let there be no doubt: PIA is opposed to these proposals and is steadfast in support of state regulation of insurance.”

Professional Insurance Agents Oppose Treasury Department’s Insurance Proposals

PIA Says Treasury Department Is Biased in Questions for Study of Financial Regulation

April 8, 2008