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Insurance underwriters are less likely to oppose enabling banks to sell insurance than they were in the past, although agents still remain opposed to current federal legislation which will increase bank product powers. Historically, Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut has sponsored amendments which prohibit banks from entering the insurance market, but now that companies are beginning to regard banks as just another distribution channel, Dodd has changed his position. Agents' and firms' reactions to the recent Barnett Banks Supreme Court ruling are discussed., WASHINGTON--If insurance agent groups choose to continue fighting the battle to keep banks out of the insurance industry, it's likely they'll fight without the support of property-casualty insurance companies, industry [...]

Health insurance agents are upset that Pres Clinton's health care reform proposal might put them out of business. Representatives of trade organizations representing insurance agents expressed their dismay in letters to the White House over comments by senior Clinton administration officials that denigrated insurance agents and said that they should seek another line of work., Top officials of the National Association of Health Underwriters, upset at agent exclusion from health care reform, have written to the White House saying they are disturbed that individuals connected [...]

Agents At Square One After House Defeats Banking Bill WASHINGTON--In a stunning series of events, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to kill legislation that would have severely limited bank [...]

Ariz. Agents Move To Stop New Prop 103 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Facing an insurance rate rollback initiative eerily similar to California's Proposition 103, Arizona insurance agents are eager to avoid [...]

This will be a Budget containing bribes. The general election is round the corner and Labour will not be certain to be re-elected. Sorting out the hype from the true […]

Proposed changes to the way independent insurance companies and banks sell insurance and a potential restructuring of the market for business insurance will have a major impact on consumers in [...]

Tension is high as House lawmakers and lobbyists cut deals before Thursday's vote on financial reform, prompting even the normally coolheaded Rep. Jim Leach to blow his top. The House [...]

A DECISION LAST WEEK by the Senate Republican leadership to postpone a vote on a bill on estate tax reform until after Congress returns from its July. Fourth recess may [...]

Washington Financial services reform legislation took a dramatic step forward last week following an unprecedented agreement brokered by Rep. Mike Oxley, R-Ohio, between insurance agents and two major banks on [...]

Washington Insurance agents are blasting, while banking groups are praising, a new ruling by the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that would allow national banks to sell [...]

The Independent Insurance Agents of America (IIAA) sponsored the Future One Campaign Institute, a seminar on political campaigning for independent insurance agents. The Institute was attended by 29 agents and insurance industry employees thinking about running for political office. One of the speakers was US Rep Jack Kingston (R-GA), a past member of the IIAA., Don't be surprised if a local or state election includes an independent agent on the ballot. Recently, 29 agents and insurance company employees from 18 states learned the ins and [...]

A possible compromise on one of the major stumbling blocks to financial services reform legislation is being discussed between insurance agents, banks and House Commerce Committee leaders, National Underwriter has [...]

Agent groups and life insurance companies are working together to back an amendment developed by Rep. John D. Dingell, D-Mich. that is aimed at resolving the problems they have with [...]

Washington Two major agent groups are threatening to oppose financial services reform legislation unless it provides for 'true and clear functional regulation' of insurance sales. Meanwhile, a wide array of [...]

California insurance agents believe the vehicle photo inspection law enacted in 1992 is more anti-consumer than it is a fraud deterrent. The law provided law enforcement agents with additional information to prevent automobile theft and fraud. New legislation is underway to get rid of the law by 1999. Surveys have found that law enforcement agents are not utilizing the photos at all., United in their belief that California's vehicle photo inspection law has proved to be more anti-consumer than a deterrent to fraud, representatives from a number of agent groups have come [...]

A report by the Kentucky Department of Insurance reveals that the state's health insurance market is unstable. Insurance Commissioner George Nichols predicts that the state's highly regulated health insurance market, which was created by health care reforms implemented in 1994 and 1996, cannot be sustained as currently structured. Insurance agents' trade associations are recommending changes to the state's healthcare reform laws to bolster the market's viability., The Kentucky health insurance market is 'unstable and cannot sustain itself over the long term,' concludes a report by Insurance Commissioner George Nichols. Agent groups, meanwhile, are recommending changes to [...]

Eugene Ludwig should be removed as Comptroller of the Currency, a top Democratic member of Congress said last week. Rep. John D. Dingell, D-Mich., the ranking Democrat on the House [...]

Insurance agents and bankers in many states are working together for the enactment of laws to govern insurance sales by banks, in spite of forecasts of battles between the two groups. Bank insurance laws were enacted in both Arkansas and West Virginia in late Mar 1997, and similar legislation is expected in 1997 in other states as well. States are eager to enact these laws in light of insurance powers given to national banks in the US., Despite predictions of bruising battles, bankers and insurance agents are working together in many states to enact laws governing bank insurance sales. The West Virginia and Arkansas legislatures passed bills [...]

A coalition composed of three trade associations that represent insurance agents in New York State has begun lobbying legislators in Albany, NY, in a move to block the passage of a 'wild card' bill that seeks to override certain insurance laws. According to the coalition, the bill would give banks an unfair advantage in the sale of insurance products. The bill, which is known as The Governor's 1997 Program Bill Six, is based on a wild card banking code provision that has been passed in 43 states., A Long Island coalition representing three New York State trade associations and 200,000 insurance agents confronted legislators last week in Albany, demanding state-chartered banks that sell insurance products adhere to [...]

The Independent Insurance Agents of America, in what would be a major policy reversal, is likely to declare its support for affiliations between insurance firms and banks. That support would be contingent, however, on the requirement that all insurance organizations, including those affiliated with banks, would be subject to the same, state-based regulations. The policy change results from the group's recognition of marketplace realities, IIAA president Ron Smith acknowledged., WASHINGTON -- The Independent Insurance Agents of America will likely adopt a major new position on bank insurance powers early next year supporting affiliations between banks and insurance firms subject [...]

The Independent Insurance Agents Association is disputing a request by the Financial Institutions Insurance Association to preempt a bank insurance consumer-protection law passed in Rhode Island. The bill in question affect sales of personal lines, life insurance and annuities and restricts the use of bank customer information to market insurance., A request by a bank-insurance group to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to preempt a bank insurance consumer-protection bill recently passed in Rhode Island has the Independent [...]

Insurance agent groups are lobbying Congress to require bank insurance agencies to earn state licenses. The House has temporarily put the issue on hold and the Senate is not expected to include the the insurance language agents are seeking in upcoming legislation. The insurance language would prevent banks from selling federally-insured retirement certificates of deposit and forbid the Federal Reserve Board from authorizing bank holding companies to sell annuities or insurance., WASHINGTON--Legislation backed by agent groups that would require bank insurance agencies to acquire state licenses has been shelved, at least temporarily, by the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, the Senate, which [...]

Insurance agent groups have devised a model blueprint for state legislation regulating bank insurance activities which they believe would not infringe on the preemption standard established in the Barnett Bank case. The model law blueprint stipulates that bank insurance sales be conducted only by licensed agents and that bank employees who are not licensed agents not be remunerated for referring customers to bank insurance agents., WASHINGTON--Insurance agent groups have developed a blueprint for a model state law regulating bank insurance activities. The groups believe that these model laws, which focus on consumer protection issues, can [...]

The board of directors of the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers voted to terminate its lobbying effort against the bank marketing of insurance as it is apparent that Congress will take no action to restrict banks from the insurance market. The Council, which was one of the property-casualty insurance industry's most vocal opponents of bank insurance powers, now will lobby for a fair playing field for all insurance-marketers. The Council represents approximately 300 large property-casualty insurance agencies who control 75% of the market., WASHINGTON--The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers, a stalwart in the battle against bank insurance powers, will no longer fight the threshold question of whether banks should be allowed to [...]

Insurance agents are lobbying for changes in banking legislation sponsored by House Banking Committee Chmn Jim Leach that would allow bank holding companies and insurance companies to affiliate. The agents are seeking clarification of the specific functions to be regulated under the bill. A spokesman for the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers said, however, that passage of the bill is unlikely in the current Congress because it remains too controversial., WASHINGTON-INSURANCE agents are working feverishly to alter pending banking legislation more to their liking even while acknowledging that chances for passage in this Congress are increasingly remote. 'Any strategy for [...]

Groups representing insurance agents will meet with officials of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on Feb 21, 1996 to dispute a decision by the OCC that expands bank powers. The agents are considering a lawsuit over the OCC's decision to allow Magna Bank of Brentwood, MO to keep its insurance affiliate after it converts from a state to federally chartered bank. The agents claim the decision violates the National Bank Act. A law placing a five-year hold on bank power expansion by the OCC is being debated in Congress., WASHINGTON--A leading member of Congress is raising questions over the most recent ruling by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency expanding bank powers. Agents, meanwhile, have scheduled a [...]

The Bankers Roundtable is lobbying Congress to weaken a proposal to restrict banks' powers to market insurance products that is part of bank regulatory reform legislation. The restriction on bank insurance powers was crafted by House Banking Committee Chmn Jim Leach and has the support of insurance agents. The Bankers Roundtable claims it wants to work with Leach to address its concerns and craft a compromise acceptable to both the banking and insurance industries., WASHINGTON--A major banking organization is seeking a compromise on controversial banking legislation backed by insurance agents but opposed by many banks. The Washington-based Bankers Roundtable is circulating a proposal to [...]

The Bankers Roundtable, a bank industry trade association, is lobbying Congress for changes to proposed bank regulation reform legislation that limits the bank industry's insurance marketing powers. The current form of the legislation that was drafted by House Banking Committee Chmn Jim Leach is opposed by other bank lobbyists, but the Roundtable is seeking a compromise that would broaden bank insurance powers. The bank insurance restrictions were incorporated by Leach with input from insurance agents., WASHINGTON--A major banking organization is seeking a compromise on controversial banking legislation backed by insurance agents but opposed by many banks. The Washington-based Bankers Roundtable is circulating a proposal to [...]

The Congressional Republican leadership agreed to bring to a vote proposed banking legislation that includes a 5-year moratorium on the Comptroller of the Currency's ability to expand bank insurance powers. The leadership's decision represents a major victory for lobbyists representing insurance agents. The new banking law will repeal the Glass-Steagall Act and reform banking regulation. In a related development, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that will decide whether state laws regulating the affiliation of banks and insurance entities supercede federal laws., WASHINGTON-INSURANCE agents won a significant legislative victory on banking last week even as the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that will have a major impact on the [...]

Trade associations representing insurance agents won a big victory in Congress when the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives agreed to introduce a banking law reform bill that includes a provision circumscribing the powers of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The OCC will not be allowed to increase the banking industry's ability to market insurance products for a period of 5 years. A provision that would have allowed the merger of banks and insurers also was deleted from the legislation., WASHINGTON - Insurance agents won a significant legislative victory on banking last week even as the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that will have a major [...]

Several life insurance agents expressed concerns about legislative issues at the 1995 conference of the National Association of Life Underwriters. Agents oppose a House proposal which would remove the deductibility of interest paid on loans from corporate-owned life insurance policies. Also, agents are strongly opposed to banks entering the insurance business, but they support tort reform., MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.--Members of the National Association of Life Underwriters meeting here were urged to contact their Congressmen to protest legislation in the House Ways and Means Committee to retroactively take [...]

Life insurance agents are lobbying Congress to revise a proposal which would limit or eliminate the deductibility of interest paid on loans from corporate-owned life insurance (COLI) policies. A revised bill, passed by the House Ways and Means Committee, would grandfather COLI policies issued prior to 1987, but the deductibility of interest on other COLI loans will be phased out beginning in 1996., WASHINGTON--Life insurance agents are hoping to work with Congress to develop an acceptable alternative to a revised proposal to limit the deductibility of interest on loans from corporate-owned life insurance [...]

Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman's apparent delay of the phaseout of the crop insurance duel delivery system is upsetting insurance agent spokespeople. Glickman announced that the USDA had found that it could not support the end of the system in the near future. He not only precluded 1995 from a phaseout but also indicated that he does not currently support the phaseout for 1996., Agent leaders were bewildered and angered by statements made by Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman, who appears to be putting off phasing out the dual delivery system for crop insurance, [...]

Trade associations representing insurance agents are rallying opponents of the expansion of bank insurance powers. Insurance agents, represented by such trade associations as the Independent Insurance Agents of America, the National Assn of Life Underwriters (NALU) and the Council of Insurance Agents, are opposed to a banking bill being crafted by Congress that would permit banks to affiliate with insurance companies. NALU contends that the bill would have adverse affects not only on agents but on small businesses and independent banks., WASHINGTON - Insurance agents are putting together a broad coalition that will work to strip language from pending banking legislation that would allow banks and insurance companies to affiliate. Robert [...]

The Independent Insurance Agents of America (IIAA) is attempting to structure a broad coalition of interests opposed to legislative provisions that would permit insurance companies and banks to affiliate. The coalition, the IIAA hopes, would fight to remove such provisions from the pending bank bill. The association will hold a meeting that it hopes will attract representatives of small-business groups, small-bank groups, consumer groups and other organizations., WASHINGTON - The Independent Insurance Agents of America is putting together a broad coalition that will work to strip language from pending banking legislation that would allow banks and insurance [...]

Insurance agents' trade associations criticized the vote by the House Banking Committee permitting the affiliations of insurance companies and agencies with banks. The American Council of Life Insurance and the National Assn of Life Underwriters came out against affiliations, arguing that it would complicate bank solvency regulation. The leadership of the House has taken a position opposing such affiliations between insurers and banks, and the insurance agent groups believe that the Committee's position will not be enacted into law., WASHINGTON--Insurance agents are marshalling their forces in an all-out effort to defeat or modify legislation approved by the House Banking Committee that would allow banks, insurance companies and insurance agencies [...]

The National Assn of Life Underwriters has joined with other trade associations representing insurance agents to form a new ad hoc coalition to fight the expansion of bank insurance powers. The new coalition, which has not been named, is being formed in the wake of the breakup of the Alliance for the Separation of Banking and Insurance. Many agents associations disagree over how conciliatory that the industry should be to Congressional efforts to extend bank insurance powers. Other members of the coalition include the Independent Insurance Agents of America and the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers. The National Assn of Professional Insurance Agents will not participate in the coalition., WASHINGTON - Insurance agents groups, including the National Association of Life Underwriters, have joined in a new ad hoc coalition to fight bank entry into the insurance business. The new [...]

Draft legislation being drawn-up by the staffs of the House Banking and Commerce Committees that would extend the insurance powers of the banking industry is opposed by insurance agents. The draft legislation may be attached to the legislation that will repeal the Glass-Steagall Act. Agents object to the preemption of state insurance laws that prohibit links between insurance companies and banks or prohibit cross-marketing activities of insurer-linked banks., Washington - Insurance agents are strongly opposing a preliminary draft compromise on bank insurance powers that would permit affiliations between banks and insurance entities. The draft was developed by House [...]

The Association for Advanced Life Underwriting (AALU) encourages insurance agents to lobby their Congressional representatives for favorable legislation, but the AALU discouraged agents from discussing certain issues at its 1995 conference. Agents are discouraged from discussing the implications of a flat tax or consumption tax on goods and services. The AALU also is lobbying for new calculations to help banks purchase the appropriate amount of insurance for employees., WASHINGTON - The insurance industry may consider the Republican-controlled Congress its friend, but members of the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting here were warned not to feel too relaxed or [...]

Insurance agents oppose a proposal by the Clinton administration to allow banks to engage in insurance business. The Natl Assn of Life Underwriters, for example, believes that deregulation of insurance and financial services would be bad both for consumers and for insurance agents. The proposal, introduced to the House Banking Committee, would allow well-capitalized banks to affiliate with insurers through either subsidiary or holding company structures., WASHINGTON--Insurance agents are promising to oppose the Clinton administration's proposal to restructure financial services regulation in the United States, while companies are sounding a more cautious note, at least for [...]

Insurance agents are lobbying Senate Banking Committee Chmn Alfonse M. D'Amato for stricter laws against bank insurance services. Agents' associations, such as the Independent Insurance Agents of America and others, believe that a recent Supreme Court ruling that allowed a bank to sell annuities threatens traditional insurance underwriting and sales operations. The associations want Sen D'Amato to propose legislation enabling state insurance departments to regulate all insurance services., WASHINGTON--The legislative battle over bank insurance powers has begun anew in the wake of the United States Supreme Court's ruling allowing banks to sell annuities. (See NU, Jan. 23.) Eight [...]

Florida's Congressional delegation is being lobbied by the Florida Assn of Life Underwriters (FALU) to change the federal Social Security Act. The FALU wants the Social Security Act to be amended to prevent insurance agents marketing Florida's health care reform plan from being prosecuted for violations of the Act's anti-kickback regulations. The FALU's position is supported by the two senators from Florida, Bob Graham and Connie Mack. The Florida Health Security Act has a waiver from Medicaid regulations from the Health Care Financing Administration., TALLAHASSEE, Fla.--The Florida Association of Life Underwriters is asking Congress to clarify whether the inclusion of agents in Florida's health care reform plan violates anti-kickback provisions in the Social Security [...]

The Michigan Association of Insurance Agents (MAIA) supports compromise legislation which proposes to allow banks to offer insurance services. MAIA previously supported a total ban on bank insurance services, but a state Supreme Court ruling allows certain types of banks to sell insurance. Thus, MAIA believes that banks and agents should be subject to the same insurance regulations. The proposed legislation would require banks to maintain separate lending and insurance services and would prohibit banks from requiring insurance as a condition for loans., In a dramatic shift in position, Michigan agents have agreed to back compromise legislation that allows banks in the state to sell insurance as long as they comply with certain [...]

Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell's health care reform bill has garnered significant opposition from the business community including trade associations representing the health insurance industry and insurance agents. Business groups have come out in opposition to the Mitchell bill because it would undermine the quality of extant employer-provided employee health care plans. Business trade associations also oppose the bill because it would impose de facto health insurance purchasing cooperatives., WASHINGTON--Insurance industry and business opposition to the health care reform bill put forward in the Senate by Majority Leader George Mitchell quickened last week. At press time, a group, including [...]

Health insurance companies and trade associations representing insurance agents have intensified their lobbying of Congress in light of the Democratic Party leadership's effort to enact a health care reform bill during the 1994 session. Health insurers and agents are lobbying against the extension of Medicare Part C to non-poor individuals working for employers with a maximum of 100 employees. Agents are particularly concerned with proposals to restrict commissions paid to agents for health insurance sales., WASHINGTON--Congress is getting ready for a showdown debate over health care reform, beginning later this month and probably ending in mid-August when a three-week recess begins. Senate Majority Leader George [...]

The Clinton administration proposal to tax the build-up value of annuities has drawn the opposition of the life insurance industry. Life insurance industry trade groups, insurance companies and agents are lobbying Congress against the proposal, and they are in the process of creating coalitions with public interest groups to oppose the proposed tax. The American Council of Life Insurance reports that a toll-free telephone number helped generate 250,000 telegrams to Pres Clinton and Congress that are hostile to the proposal., WASHINGTON--Life insurance companies and agents are continuing their efforts to stave off any possible attempt to tax the inside buildup of annuities. Jack Dolan, a representative of the American Council [...]

A health care reform proposal drafted by Sen Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) that preserves the role of the health insurance industry and insurance agents in the health care system has not received the support of the health insurance industry or agents. While the bill's lack of mandatory health insurance purchasing alliances and the continued role of insurers and agents in the health system are supported by industry players, the industry objects to other aspects of the bill. Objectionable provisions in Kennedy's bill include community rating, premium caps and a federal long-term care program., WASHINGTON--While health insurers and agents welcomed the fact that Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., dropped mandatory health alliances from his version of the administration's health care reform bill, they expressed [...]