WASHINGTON, February 1, 2008 — Members of the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents will convene on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on February 27 and 28, 2008 for their 26th annual Federal Legislative Summit.
The 2008 PIA Federal Legislative Summit is a gathering of PIA members from around the nation who spend two days meeting with their elected representatives to advance the views and legislative priorities of professional independent insurance agents.
The top priority for PIA members will be their ongoing efforts to thwart attempts to transfer the regulation and supervision of insurance from the states to the federal government.
“PIA is adamantly opposed to all proposals for federal regulation of insurance,” said PIA National President Robert Page. “State oversight of our industry has worked well for over a century. As local Main Street insurance agents, our members oppose the creation of a big, new federal insurance bureaucracy that these proposals require. We believe the best regulation is that which is closest to the people.”
“As everybody knows, turning things over to Washington, D.C. just creates more problems,” Page said.
The summit begins February 27 with an orientation session followed by an in-depth legislative briefing and Q&A session conducted by PIA government affairs and congressional staffers, held at the Marriott Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia, PIA’s headquarters hotel.
The following morning, February 28, participants will gather for a breakfast program featuring remarks by PIA leaders.
ABC-TV News Senior Correspondent Claire Shipman will deliver the keynote address during the PIA Federal Legislative Summit’s kickoff breakfast. Shipman, a top political reporter on ABC’s Good Morning America and an analyst on ABC’s This Week, will offer her perspective on politics in this presidential election year. She also offers a unique and personal perspective on the changing nature of women in politics and in power. Reporting from Baghdad, Beijing and wherever news occurs, Shipman draws on her 15-plus years as a Washington and White House reporter for the network as well as a foreign correspondent covering the former Soviet Union in ABC’s Moscow bureau.
PIA members then head over to the House and Senate sides of the Hill for a full day of scheduled meetings with lawmakers in their offices. At day’s end, a reception for all Summit participants will be followed by the annual fundraising and awards dinner of the PIA Political Action Committee (PIAPAC).
“The big banks and large securities firms are seeking to transfer insurance regulation from the states to the federal government for their own economic benefit,” said PIA National Executive Vice President & CEO Len Brevik. “The Main Street agents of PIA believe that state insurance regulation has worked well and continues to effectively serve the needs of insurance consumers and local communities, as it has for more than a century. PIA agents will bring this message directly to their members of Congress.”
PIA members will also advocate for the creation of a national natural catastrophe plan that supports the availability, affordability and stability of property insurance in catastrophe prone areas, as well as the economic viability of local communities.
Improvements and advancements in the federal flood insurance and crop insurance programs are also on PIA’s list of legislative priorities for the Federal Legislative Summit. In addition to legislative meetings on Capitol Hill, PIA members will meet with USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) officials on Friday, February 29 to discuss the federal crop insurance program in greater detail.
Founded in 1931, PIA is a national trade association that represents member insurance agents and their employees who sell and service all kinds of insurance, but specialize in coverage of automobiles, homes and businesses. PIA members are Local Agents Serving Main Street America (SM). PIA’s web address is www.pianet.com.