NEW YORK, N.Y., July 9, 2008--The Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) endorses the legislation marked up and favorably reported by the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises. The Insurance Information Act and the Increasing Insurance Coverage Options for Consumers Act were hot topics at RIMS on the Hill legislative conference where RIMS members met with members of Congress and staff to lobby for both bills in June 2008. The two bills are legislative priorities for insurance buyers and risk managers.
RIMS commends subcommittee chair Paul Kanjorski, D-Penn.; ranking member Deborah Pryce, R-Ohio; Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Kansas; and Rep. Tom Campbell, R-Calif., for their efforts to successfully move the legislation that would better facilitate access to affordable insurance for commercial consumers.
H.R. 5840: the Insurance Information Act of 2008 would create a federal office of insurance information and establish, for the first-time, a repository for the collection and dissemination of information at the federal level within the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Additionally, the bill has clearly defined and strictly limited preemptive powers applicable only if state laws conflict with United States international trade agreements.
H.R. 5792: Increasing Insurance Coverage Options for Consumers Act of 2008 expands upon legislation passed in 1981 and 1986 to address a need for those businesses that purchase commercial property insurance. It expands the Liability Risk Retention Act to allow risk retention groups to offer commercial property coverage in addition to general liability insurance.
Both H.R. 5840 and H.R. 5792 were approved as amended unanimously and are fast-tracked to go to the floor of the House of Representatives for consideration without action by the Financial Services Committee.
For more information on RIMS legislative activities, visit www.RIMS.org/LegislativeAction.
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