For Immediate Release
November 19, 2020
Contact: Tess Badenhausen
(732) 201-4133
NCOIL ANNOUNCES SPEAKERS FOR SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON RACE
Committee Scheduled to Meet December 9th in Tampa; Committee and Speaker Roster Still in Formation
Manasquan, NJ – The National Council of Insurance Legislators (“NCOIL”) will hold the initial meeting of its newly formed Special Committee on Race in Insurance Underwriting on Wednesday December 9 at the NCOIL Annual Meeting in Tampa, Florida. Senator Neil Breslin of New York, former NCOIL President, chairs the committee, which is still in formation.
Breslin stated, “I look forward to the committee rolling up its collective sleeves and taking a deeper look into such an important issue. We all know that the 2020s are not the 1950s or even the 1990s, and racial equality is something that has rightly moved to the forefront of many areas”.
Breslin previously commented that the insurance industry has taken steps to review and, in some instances, change certain previously established ways of doing business with the intention to address systemic racism. “By forming this committee, we are creating a platform where NCOIL can examine and determine if unfair racial discrimination exists in insurance underwriting and NCOIL’s model laws,” Breslin concluded.
NCOIL President Rep. Matt Lehman (IN) stated “we have a really great line up of speakers so far who are passionate about this issue and are excited to be a part of something meaningful.”
To date those speakers include:
-Birny Birnbaum, Director – Center for Economic Justice
-Laura Foggan, Esq., Partner – Crowell & Moring LLP
-Roosevelt Mosley, FCAS, MAAA, CSPA, Principal and Consulting Actuary – Pinnacle Actuarial Resources, Inc.
-Eric Poe, COO – Cure Auto Insurance
-Dr. Lawrence “Lars” Powell, Director – University of Alabama Center for Insurance Information and Research
-Professor Anya Prince – University of Iowa College of Law
-The Honorable Nat Shapo – Former Director of the Illinois Department of Insurance
-Marty Young, Co-Founder – Buckle
-Representatives from the American Academy of Actuaries
The Committee will meet on Wednesday December 9 from 10:00AM – 1:00PM, and from 2:00PM – 5:00PM. The day will be divided into three parts. The first will be to review the background on insurance industry ratings regulations. Next will come presentations, discussion and consideration of a definition of “proxy discrimination.” Third and finally will be presentations, and examination and consideration of various insurance rating factors.
NCOIL CEO, Commissioner Tom Considine said, “NCOIL has been discussing these and related issues informally since June, with Rep. Lehman and the officers deciding to formalize the process in late summer. We look forward to hearing from knowledgeable experts in the field who will be able to expand on and properly define “proxy discrimination,” which currently stands as an undefined term, despite its wide use by many in the insurance context. Additionally, times have clearly changed and rating factors – as well as the combination of factors – used in insurance underwriting, such as zip code and level of education, warrant revisiting.”
The Special Committee is open to all active NCOIL legislators, and to date the roster includes:
• Chair: Senator Neil Breslin (NY)
• Senator Jason Rapert (AR) – NCOIL Immediate Past President
• Assemblyman Ken Cooley (CA) – NCOIL Vice President
• Representative Park Cannon (GA)
• Senator Travis Holdman (IN) – NCOIL Immediate Past President
• Representative Matt Lehman (IN) – NCOIL President
• Representative Joe Fischer (KY) – NCOIL Secretary
• Representative Bart Rowland (KY) – Chair of the NCOIL Property & Casualty Insurance Committee
• Representative Edmond Jordan (LA) – Chair of the NCOIL Financial Services & MultiLines Issues Committee
• Representative Brenda Carter (MI)
• Representative George Keiser (ND) – Former NCOIL President
• Assemblywoman Maggie Carlton (NV) – Chair of the NCOIL Life Insurance & Financial Planning Committee
• Assemblyman Kevin Cahill (NY) – NCOIL Treasurer
• Assemblywoman Pam Hunter (NY) – Chair of the NCOIL Health Insurance & Long Term Care Issues Committee
“I am proud that we have so many NCOIL members who enlisted so far for the opportunity to serve on this important committee; both the committee roster and the speaker lineup remain open,” concluded Lehman.
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NCOIL is a national legislative organization with the nation’s 50 states as members, represented principally by legislators serving on their states’ insurance and financial institutions committees. NCOIL writes Model Laws in insurance and financial services, works to preserve the State jurisdiction over insurance as established by the McCarran-Ferguson Act seventy four years ago, and to serve as an educational forum for public policymakers and interested parties. Founded in 1969, NCOIL works to assert the prerogative of legislators in making State policy when it comes to insurance and educate State legislators on current and longstanding insurance issues.