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"Reciprocity and uniformity" are two key goals under consideration for this weekend’s national meting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) in New Orleans. (Originally scheduled June 9-12 for San Francisco, local labor disputes were partially responsible for moving the meeting, to the consternation of many delegates.)

"Modernization" is another key topic among the expected 1,300 attendees at the confab, where details of the federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act (CLBA) will be a hot topic as well. Part of the act deals with licensing insurance providers.

Headquartered in Kansas City, MO, NAIC is a voluntary organization of the chief insurance regulatory officials of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and four US territories. Founded in 1871, the association’s overriding objective is to protect consumers and help maintain the financial stability of the insurance industry by offering financial, actuarial, legal, computer, research, market conduct and economic expertise.

Commenting on "The future of insurance regulation," NAIC has stated:

"Fueled by enhanced technology and globalization, the world financial markets are undergoing rapid changes. In order to protect and serve more sophisticated but also more exposed insurance commissioners of the future, insurance regulators are committed to modernize insurance regulation to meet the realities of an increasingly dynamic, and internationally competitive, financial services marketplace."

According to William J. Kirven III, conference working group co-chair, May 12 marked the halfway point in NAIC’s efforts to meet the producer-licensing regulation mandated by GLBA, saying that 25 states have passed laws designed to satisfy the act’s requirements, while legislation is pending final consideration in 17 additional states this year.

"We anticipate that by December 2001, 42 states will have passed this act, ensuring near-national reciprocity for non-resident agent licensing. This will account for 78% of all licensed agents."

In recent Congressional testimony, Kirven outlined specific ways in which states are making progress toward meeting GLBA’s requirements.

Testifying before the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises, Kirven underscored the commitment of NAIC members to not only meet, but exceed, GLBA’s producer-licensing requirements by the statutory deadline.

Addressing the issue of uniformity, Kirven told members of the subcommittee that the NAIC’s Producer Licensing Model Act (PLMA) advances uniformity in agent licensing by:

1. Creating uniform definitions and key exceptions
2. Creating a uniform application process for residents and non-residents
3. Establishing uniform definitions for the five major lines of insurance
4. Establishing uniform exemptions from pre-licensing requirements for certain producers
5. Establishing uniform standards for license denials, non-renewals and revocations
6. Establishing uniform standards related to certain commissions
7. Creating uniform standards for agent appointments
8. Establishing uniform procedures for administrative determinations

"These specific uniformity provisions respond to many of the producer community’s concerns and demonstrate our commitment to the goal of uniformity," Kirven commented later.

"PLMA creates much needed uniformity, simplifies the licensing process and establishes the necessary framework for a national licensure program," Kirven added. "It also creates needed near-term reciprocity while preserving states’ rights and eliminating retaliatory fees."