Senate panel hears debate on federal regulatory role.(News)(in insurance regulation)

Business Insurance, October, 2003 by Hofmann, Mark A.

Byline: MARK A. HOFMANN WASHINGTON-Support may be growing for some sort of federal role in insurance regulation, if the testimony of witnesses at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing last week is any indication. Exactly what that role should be, though, remains an issue of some debate, with proposals ranging from using federal legislation to prod reluctant state governments to enact reforms to allowing multistate insurers to choose federal rather than state charters.

Not surprisingly, a witness representing the National Assn. of Insurance Commissioners held that a federal insurance regulatory role is not only unnecessary but also could prove counterproductive. The hearing was called at the behest of the committee's ranking minority member, Sen. Ernest...