On April 27, Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA) introduced the Federal Insurance Office Elimination Act of 2023. See PIA’s press release here. Rep. Cline’s press release, with PIA quotes, can be found here.

The Federal Insurance Office Elimination Act will protect the successful state insurance regulatory system by repealing the Federal Insurance Office (FIO), an unnecessary federal bureaucracy created in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank). The proper place for the regulation of insurance is at the state level and the state regulation of insurance has served the insurance industry and consumers well for over one hundred years.

PIA opposed the creation of the FIO from the outset. Many of the FIO’s duties are duplicative of other offices in the U.S. government and the work of state insurance commissioners.  In recent years, its authority has continued to expand. The Biden administration issued a 2021 Executive Order (EO) asking the FIO to assess climate risks to carriers and identify possible sources of coverage disruption in geographic areas prone to climate change. After the EO was issued, the FIO contacted state insurance departments requesting zip-code-level data regarding property insurance coverages, liabilities, and losses and, through Treasury, announced its intent to conduct a climate-related financial risk data call, among other activities. The FIO is also using this directive to actively delve into other areas, like flood insurance.

PIA has been leading the effort to repeal the FIO for years. In November 2016, PIA became the first national insurance association to publicly call for the repeal of the FIO, and it remains a top priority. The Federal Insurance Office Elimination Act would protect our strong state regulatory structure by fully repealing the FIO.

The reintroduction of the bill comes just ahead of PIA’s 2023 Advocacy Day, and PIA members from around the country will be urging their elected representatives to cosponsor the House bill. At the same time, we are working with our senate allies to reintroduce the bill there.