2015 May/June OIC

Insurance producers:

This is an update about the Office of Insurance Commissioner's review of association health plans in Washington.

Since January 2014, we have been reviewing all association health plans as they renew. To date, we have approved 11 plans, including the most recent approval for the Washington Education Association.

Our review is focused on two factors:

• Does the association meet the federal definition of being a true large employer?
• Are the rates fair?

How the review process works:

• Large-employer status. First, we determine if an association meets the federal test of being a true or bonafide large employer and therefore able to sell large-employer coverage. Association members must share a common industry or trade and the association must be formed for a purpose other than to sell health insurance. If an association does not meet this definition, it can still offer health insurance to its members, but it cannot offer a large-employer health plan to its members.
• Review of rates. Second, we review rating practices. Rates must be fair in relation to the benefits. This is true for every health insurance plan, not just for association health plans. If the rates are not justified, the plan is disapproved.

2015 January/February Legislation

Legislative Report

 

OIC Request Legislation Modernizing Life Insurance Reserve Requirements Moves Forward in the Senate and House

 

On Wednesday, January 21 the Senate Financial Institutions & Insurance Committee Friday, held a hearing to consider SB 5180—a measure introduced at the request of Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler to adopt the NAIC updates to the Standard Valuation and Standard Nonforfeiture laws, including a new approach based on principle-based reserves. The American Council of Life Insurers, Allstate, American Family Insurance, and USAA testified in support of the bill. The OIC also spoke in favor of the bill. The committee took action and approved a “do pass” recommendation on the bill on Friday, January 23. The bill has been referred to the Senate Rules Committee in preparation for consideration on the Senate floor.

 

A House version of the bill (HB 1076) was approved by the House Business and Financial Services Committee on January 20. HB 1076 has been referred to the House General Government & Information Technology Committee for consideration of the fiscal note on the measure that has been prepared by the OIC. The committee has scheduled a hearing on the measure for Tuesday, February 3. This is a routine referral for review of the fiscal note, and is not expected to significantly delay the progress of the bill. The bill has already been placed on a list of bills to be brought to a vote.

 

2014 May/June OIC

Avoiding Compliance Issues with your State Regulator

There are many producer compliance issues my staff routinely addresses, ranging  from timely response to an OIC inquiry, updating a producer’s address in the proper time frame, or naming a designated responsible licensed person (DRLP) for a licensed insurance agency. Our approach to most producer compliance issues has been to educate our licensees and assist them  in meeting compliance standards rather than beginning with fines and penalties.  Here, I will address two common compliance issues: the use of DBAs--that’s “doing business as” for those not familiar with the term--and affiliations.

Let’s begin with DBAs. While not the norm in the insurance industry, some agents and agencies use them. If you do use  a DBA, there are laws and rules you need to follow to avoid compliance issues.

 

2014 January/February OIC

OIC Accepts Additional NIPR Applications

The OIC has expanded the types of applications being accepted through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) online interface as of December 20, 2013.  New insurance license applications and renewals may now be submitted for the following license types:

Ø  Resident producer (full lines only)*

Ø  Resident surplus lines broker*

Ø  Non-resident surplus lines broker*

2013 June/July OIC

As the licensing and education manager for the state insurance commissioner’s office, I’d like to take a moment to bring the NAIFA membership up to date on what’s happening within my program – and to ask for your input.

Online Licensing – The OIC has prioritized moving the licensing processes online since 2007.  Progress over the past six years has been steady, building our online services piece by piece. I am pleased to inform you that at the end of May 2013, more than 99 percent  of all state insurance licensing transactions are being completed online. As a result, in most cases it’s now significantly faster to obtain or renew an insurance license.

I would like your feedback on your experiences with the online licensing system. What can we do to make it better or easier for you to use?  Most of our best ideas for improvements come from those that use our system.  Send us your suggestions!

Electronic Fingerprinting – The latest piece of the online initiative has been electronic submission of fingerprints.  Washington residents are required to submit fingerprints for a state and federal background check as a part of the application process.  As a result, background results have been returned to the OIC within the same day as the fingerprints were submitted for a large percentage of applicants.  This is a significant improvement over the 2-3 week for returned results for hardcopy fingerprints.  At the end of May 2013, 94% of all fingerprints were submitted electronically.