The Insurance Information Act of 2008, HR 5840, was recommended for passage by a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on Wednesday. The bill, introduced in April, would create a federal-level Office of Insurance Information within the Department of the Treasury that would provide legislators with expertise and guidance on insurance issues and recommend how the government should respond to insurance issues.
The bill’s progress incited happiness in some and concern in others within the insurance industry.
“The Office of Insurance Information could be a tremendously valuable tool for enabling the U.S. to speak with one voice on important insurance matters and for establishing U.S. leadership globally on developing international standards for insurance regulation,“ said Gov. Marc Racicot, president of the American Insurance Association (AIA).
However, Property Casualty Insurers Association of America’s president and CEO, David A. Sampson, said the bill needs to be considered carefully.
"It is important to ensure that insurance regulatory reform legislation will produce efficiencies and meaningful results without creating additional onerous, costly bureaucracy," Sampson said.