On April 17, the House Financial Services Committee passed the Insurance Data Protection Act, which was introduced by Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI) with PIA’s strong support, by a vote of 28-22. This legislation will meaningfully reform the Federal Insurance Office (FIO), an unnecessary federal bureaucracy created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

The Insurance Data Protection Act would repeal the FIO Director’s subpoena and enforcement powers. Its subpoena power is the FIO’s most powerful tool, and its elimination will help to counteract the FIO’s ever-expanding authority. The bill would require the FIO to coordinate any of its data collection efforts with state insurance regulators and consult publicly available sources of the data being sought. These provisions are designed to limit unnecessary data inquiries and prevent duplicative efforts across the federal and state regulatory landscapes, particularly in the context of work typically undertaken by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

The bill would also set forth confidentiality procedures and disclosure requirements governing the way data, once collected from insurance carriers, could be used by financial regulators. Finally, it would protect consumers by limiting the sharing of non-publicly available data with or by the FIO and other federal agencies and state insurance regulators. In essence, this bill would reset the balance of power between the FIO and state insurance regulators.

PIA has worked closely with Rep. Fitzgerald’s office to build support for the congressman’s bill ahead of the markup. PIA will continue to encourage the bills passage into law.