Commissioner Spotlight: Puerto Rico Commissioner Alexander S. Adams Vega

In the latest entry in our Commissioner Spotlight series, we are focusing on the head of the Puerto Rico Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, Commissioner Alexander S. Adams Vega. Commissioner Adams has been serving in the Puerto Rico Office of the Commissioner of Insurance for more than 10 years, first as a legal adviser and …

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PIA Asks NAIC to Revise Consumer Privacy Model to Address Independent Agent Needs

Data breaches have increasingly affected every industry that collects consumer nonpublic personal information (NPI). Insurance consumers’ data has been subjected to breaches, too, even though sensitive health information is specially protected by safeguards set forth in the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA), and other insurance data is protected by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) of 1999. Insurance agents and brokers …

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NAIC Spring Meeting Update

Recently the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) held its Spring National Meeting in the city in which it is headquartered: Kansas City, Missouri. PIA was represented at both the Board of Directors meeting of the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) and elsewhere during the NAIC meeting. During the NIPR meeting, the Board took advantage …

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NAIC Fall National Meeting Wrap-Up

Last month, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) held its Fall National Meeting. Here is a synopsis of the most notable aspects of the meeting. Creation of New “Letter” Committee First, some background on the NAIC’s structure may be helpful. The NAIC places its committees at the top, with subgroups, working groups, and task …

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NAIC Adopts Rebating Changes to Unfair Trade Practices Model

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) Executive Committee has adopted language that would allow for some types of “rebates” to be offered to consumers, unanimously approving amendments to Section 4(H) (“Rebating”) of the NAIC Unfair Trade Practices Act (Model #880) (UTPA). The revised language permits insurers or producers to “[o]ffer or give non-cash gifts, …

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Commissioner Spotlight: South Carolina Director Ray Farmer

In the latest entry in our Commissioner Spotlight series, we are focusing on the head of the South Carolina Department of Insurance (SCDOI), Director Ray Farmer. Dir. Farmer served as vice president of the American Insurance Association (AIA, now APCIA), a trade association for insurance carriers. He spent the early part of his regulatory career as …

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NAIC Makes Progress on Rebating Revisions

State interpretation and application of anti-rebating laws varies, and, about a year ago, those variations prompted the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) Innovation and Technology Task Force, led by Commissioner Jon Godfread (ND), to further investigate the section of the Unfair Trade Practices Act (Model #880) that addresses rebating. Prompted by that investigation, the Task Force tasked a …

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PIA Continues to Engage with Commissioners

As the global pandemic caused by COVID-19 (also referred to as the novel coronavirus) continues to upend the insurance industry and the economy as a whole, PIA National has offered to collaborate with state insurance leaders via the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR). PIA National is represented …

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Insurance Commissioners Vote to Reexamine Rebating

During the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) recent Fall National Meeting in Austin, TX, the Innovation and Technology Task Force, led by Commissioner Jon Godfread (ND), voted to develop amendments to the Unfair Trade Practices Act (Model #880) to address rebating. Commissioner Godfread noted that anti-rebating laws have existed in some form or another …

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Commissioner Spotlight: Maine Superintendent Eric Cioppa

In the first entry in our new “Commissioner Spotlight” series, we are focusing on the head of the Maine Bureau of Insurance, Superintendent Eric Cioppa. Superintendent Cioppa began his career in insurance as a statistician for the Insurance Bureau before becoming Supervisor of Maine’s Workers’ Compensation Section. After that, he became Deputy Superintendent in 1998. …

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