History & Purpose

THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF INSURANCE LEGISLATORS (NCOIL)

NCOIL is a legislative organization comprised principally of legislators serving on state insurance and financial institutions committees around the nation. NCOIL writes Model Laws in insurance, works to both 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 policy makers 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 perennial insurance issues.

 

TOWARD THAT END, NCOIL WORKS TO:

Educate state legislators on current and perennial insurance issues

Help state legislators from different states interface effectively with each other

Improve the quality of insurance regulation

Assert the prerogative of legislators in making state policy when it comes to insurance

Speak out on Congressional initiatives that attempt to encroach upon state primacy in overseeing insurance

Many legislators active in NCOIL chair or are members of the committees responsible for insurance in their respective state houses across the country.  All states are either general or contributing NCOIL members.

 

NCOIL ON THE HILL

NCOIL is an adamant, vocal opponent of any Congressional initiative that would deprive consumers of key state protections, preempt state laws that respond to unique insurance markets, threaten critical state premium tax revenue, and, in many cases, lead to cherry picking and fraud.

Congress has stepped up interest in usurping state insurance authority.  Lawmakers are considering plans to sweep insurance oversight into broad system-wide financial services reform, including into a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), and are considering creation of a Federal Insurance Office (FIO) with significant powers to preempt states.

Congress is devising healthcare overhauls with far-reaching implications—and NCOIL is committed to ensuring that any reform maintains strong consumer protections. Congress is considering repeal of the McCarran-Ferguson Act’s limited antitrust exemption for health and other insurers—an exemption that promotes competition and allows smaller and more regional carriers to compete effectively with larger companies.  The Feds also have looked at everything from interstate health insurance sales and small business health plans (SBHPs) to an optional federal charter (OFC) and an Office of Insurance Information (OII).

 

NCOIL EFFORTS ON THE HILL INCLUDE:

Testifying before Congress on issues ranging from federal proposals to take over insurance oversight to state modernization initiatives, credit default swaps, and credit scoring statutes

Meeting with legislative leaders and staff to discuss federal and state insurance priorities

Communicating NCOIL positions on key legislation and issues through letters and NCOIL resolutions

Working with interested parties to educate Congress on the importance of state insurance authority and modernization efforts, including the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Compact

Attending and monitoring Committee hearings and other activities

Allying with other state officials to forestall new federal bureaucracies that threaten effective and consumer-oriented state regulation

 

OPEN MEETINGS, PUBLIC INPUT

NCOIL convenes three (3) meetings per year in which legislators:

Learn about current insurance policy issues

Hear from consumers, regulators, federal officials, the insurance industry, and others

Debate proposed model laws that, when enacted, serve as templates for state bills

Consider resolutions on a variety of issues

Hold committee and subcommittee meetings, hearings, special sessions, and panel discussions

 

ALL NCOIL MEETINGS ARE OPEN MEETINGS

NCOIL Committees Address Items Related To:

Financial services and investment products

Health, long-term care, and health retirement issues

International insurance issues

Life insurance and financial planning

Natural disaster insurance legislation

Property-casualty insurance

State-federal relations

Workers’ compensation insurance

 

THE RECOMMENDATIONS ADVOCATED WAYS TO:

Clarify the roles of regulators and attorneys general and strengthen commissioners’ authority

Regain and enhance legislators’ oversight of regulators and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)

Require the NAIC to follow open meetings laws and preclude regulators from attending closed meetings

Strengthen state regulation through expansion of the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Compact

Create an independent commission of stakeholders to further review the current regulatory structure increase NCOIL resources to accomplish these tasks by reallocating state NAIC assessments

 

PREVIOUS ILF STUDIES INCLUDE, AMONG OTHERS:

A 2002 legislators’ guide entitled Rising Waters, Mounting Challenges:  Flood Protection, Prevention, and Assistance, undertaken in collaboration with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in order to educate legislatures on the basics of flood insurance and help promote public awareness

The study led to an NCOIL model law that includes, among other provisions, agent training requirements for flood insurance.  The language has been widely cited by FEMA, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), and many others as a standard for agent training.

Two reports, released in 2000 and 2003, regarding the state system of market conduct surveillance that revealed, in part, significant inconsistencies, redundancies, and waste

The studies, prepared by PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLC and Georgia State University, led to, among other things, a 2006 NCOIL model law that would establish a uniform system for collecting marketplace data and would set forth a continuum of market conduct actions for consideration prior to undertaking targeted market conduct exams.

 

IN ADDITION, NCOIL PUBLISHES:

A monthly newsletter, the NCOILetter

Legislative alerts, for lawmakers in NCOIL contributing-member states, that offer concise updates on key state and federal insurance efforts and their impact on state lawmakers

Biweekly articles of interest, also for lawmakers in NCOIL contributing-member states, that draw legislators’ attention to a variety of breaking news articles on critical issues, including from sources that legislators may not access

Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of NCOIL – Published by Demotech

 

THE GLOBAL SCENE

NCOIL is state legislators’ eyes and ears on the global front regarding issues of concern between the United States and the European Union—including a groundbreaking shift in international accounting standards that will transform how U.S. companies do business.

NCOIL efforts have included meetings between NCOIL legislators and EU and UK parliamentarians and regulators both in this country and abroad.

NCOIL also monitors and reports on meetings of the NAIC, International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), and other organizations.

 

NCOIL FUNDING

NCOIL dues are $20,000 per state per year.  Contributing members submit dues and enjoy full privileges of NCOIL membership.  Meeting registration fees fund NCOIL legislative activities.

The National Council of Insurance Legislators

NCOIL National Office
616 Fifth Avenue, Suite 106
Belmar, New Jersey 07719

TEL: 732-201-4133
FAX: 518-687-0401