New York, NY – July 26, 2007 – The Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. (RIMS) supports the efforts of Congressman Ed Royce, R-California, and Congresswoman Melissa Bean, D-Illinois, in reintroducing "The National Insurance Act of 2007" in the House of Representatives yesterday. This important piece of legislation represents a much-needed step forward in the process of insurance industry modernization.
"RIMS is encouraged that the bill has been introduced in the House. We look forward to working with Representatives Royce and Bean in their efforts to modernize insurance industry regulation," says Terry Fleming, member of RIMS Board of Directors and director of risk management for Montgomery County, Maryland. "RIMS has long supported the idea of an optional federal charter and believes that a regulatory system structured in this way would hold enormous benefits for the policyholder community."
RIMS supported the Optional Federal Charter bills that were introduced in the House and the Senate in 2006. The Society endorsed both bills because of a long-standing belief that the U.S. financial services regulatory system, as it is currently structured, impedes the ability of insurers to develop and deliver products in the most efficient and effective manner. RIMS members—the buyers of commercial insurance—strongly support efforts to increase competition and market efficiency.
RIMS will continue to work closely with Reps. Royce and Bean, as well as the cosponsors of similar legislation introduced in the Senate in May, to reform insurance regulation through the creation of an optional federal insurance charter.