PIA National has released its 2020 Legislative Priorities in the lead up to PIA Advocacy Day (formerly known as the Federal Legislative Summit). PIA members will use the priorities in their meetings with their elected representatives during Advocacy Day.

Our full PIA legislative priorities with background on each issue can be found here. Below is a snapshot of the several issues PIA members will advocate for during their Advocacy Day meetings with lawmakers.

2020 PIA Advocacy Day – Issues of Focus

Flood Insurance: PIA supports the long-term reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and has endorsed a legislative package that unanimously passed the House Financial Services Committee (H.R. 3167/H.R. 3111).

This legislation includes the 5-year reauthorization of the program and provisions PIA has championed such as a continuous coverage protection for policyholders who leave the NFIP to purchase a private flood policy; and the maintenance of the Write-Your-Own reimbursement rate which will prevent guaranteed cuts to agent commissions for selling NFIP policies, among other important items.

PIA members will advocate for the passage of the House NFIP package out of the House and Senate without major changes and to oppose any provision that would lead to a cut in agent commissions.

Cannabis Safe Harbor: PIA strongly supports the Clarifying Law Around Insurance of Marijuana (CLAIM) Act (H.R. 4074/S. 2201), which prevents federal criminal prosecution of insurance agents and carriers for engaging in the business of insuring cannabis-related businesses in states where cannabis is legal in some form. PIA views its position as respectful of state insurance laws and protective of independent agents who are at risk of criminal penalty for following local laws.

PIA members will advocate to ensure that the provisions protecting insurance agents in the CLAIM Act are included in any legislation considered by the Senate and any final product that passes Congress.

Tax Deduction: PIA supports the Main Street Tax Certainty Act (H.R. 216/S. 1149), which would make permanent the 20 percent deduction available to some passthrough (S) corporations that PIA strongly advocated for in the 2017 tax reform law. However, unlike the tax benefits provided to C corporations, the passthrough deduction is a temporary provision of the tax law. As a result, the benefit available to some PIA members whose agencies are organized as passthroughs will end on December 31, 2025, unless Congress acts.

PIA members will ask Congress to ensure this important tax relief for owners of qualifying passthrough businesses is made permanent before its expiration.

Repeal the Federal Insurance Office (FIO): PIA supports the full repeal of the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) and has led efforts to develop the Federal Insurance Office Abolishment Act (H.R. 1862/S. 1586). The FIO was created by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and is an ongoing threat to the successful state insurance regulatory system.

PIA members will advocate to build support in Congress for the repeal of the FIO.

Crop Insurance: On February 10, 2020, President Trump released his FY 2021 budget proposal, which includes cutting the federal crop insurance program by $25 billion over the next decade. The proposed cuts would compromise the affordability and availability of crop insurance for farmers, seriously undermining the strength of the farm safety net during a time of real struggle for farmers and rural America.

PIA members will ask Congress to reject these proposed cuts to crop insurance and oppose any amendment that would seek to cut the program.