PIA Holds Successful Advocacy Day

Members of PIA of Virginia meet with Congressman Ben Cline (R-VA) PIA members from around the nation converged on Washington, D.C. on May 10 for its 2023 Advocacy Day. Agents met with Senators, Representatives, and legislative staffers to discuss PIA’s key legislative issues. Among PIA’s top issues were a request to the USDA’s Risk Management …

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FIO Repeal Bill, PIA Top Priority, Introduced in the House

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 …

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PIA Puts Spotlight on FIO in House Committee Hearing Testimony

The House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations is holding a hearing today entitled: “Holding the Biden Administration Accountable for Wasteful Spending and Regulatory Overreach.” PIA submitted written testimony for the record in advance of the hearing to highlight the recent actions by the Federal Insurance Office (FIO). In 2010, in a misguided …

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118th Congress Begins Amid Leadership Uncertainty

The 118th Congress begins today, January 3rd, 2023, bringing divided leadership to Washington, D.C. The Republican party is now in control of the U.S. House of Representatives, which is made up of 222 Republicans and 212 Democrats (and one vacancy). The U.S. Senate will continue to be led by the Democratic party, which has 48 Senate …

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Flood Insurance Regulatory Update

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Independent insurance agents deeply focused on the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) may already know that, on October 1, the most recently published version of the Flood Insurance Manual took effect. FEMA also recently solicited feedback on the use of Elevation Certificates and Floodproofing Certificates by communities participating in the …

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FIO Issues Notice of its Plan to Collect Climate Risk Data

The Federal Insurance Office (FIO) today issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) announcing its plan to collect current and historical data from property and casualty insurers to assist FIO in its efforts to assess climate-related risk. This action was foreshadowed by FIO’s email during the summer to insurance regulators in all 50 states, asking …

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Member Spotlight: Sen. John Boozman (R-AR)

John Boozman was elected to the United States Senate in 2010. Prior to serving in the Senate, he represented the people of the Third District of Arkansas in the U.S. House of Representatives for eight years. Before his service in Congress, Sen. Boozman was an optometrist, owning a private practice with his brother. Sen. Boozman attended …

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FIO Directives Excluded from Senate Funding Bill—For Now

As we noted last week, the House recently passed its Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill, which included several troubling directives to the Federal Insurance Office (FIO). The bill would have directed the FIO to gather data on property damage exclusions in homeowners’ and renters’ insurance policies, examine the impact …

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Recent Bills Threaten State Insurance Regulation

Recent Congressional activity has included the consideration of bills that threaten the effective state insurance regulatory system. First, the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA) (H.R. 8152) passed out of the House Energy and Commerce committee earlier this week. The ADPPA would create a national standard for data privacy and, in doing so, preempt …

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FIO Intensifies Inquiry into Climate-Related Insurance Risk

The Federal Insurance Office (FIO) recently sent a preliminary email to insurance regulators in all 50 states, asking what data they have that would show insurance coverage, liabilities, and losses for each ZIP code in their states over the past five years. The data FIO seeks will help the office assess whether insurers are refusing …

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