Ohio Ins. Dept. Introduces P/C Product Requirements Locator

Holly Saelens, Interim Director of Ohio’s Department of Insurance (ODI), announced the launch of a new “Property & Casualty Product Requirements Locator,” that will provide “a national searchable database of regulatory review requirements that offers insurers guidance in developing insurance products that are compliant with state laws.”

The ODI spearheaded the development of the nationwide database under the auspices of the NAIC’s “Improvements to State Based Systems Working Group and Review Standards Checklists Subgroup.” In addition to Ohio, Arizona, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah have submitted product information for the Product Requirements Locator to date.

“The Product Requirements Locator, available through the web site of the NAIC at www.naic.org, is a search engine that provides insurers immediate access to summarized product content requirements for a state’s rates, forms and rules and enables insurer product development staff to implement new and revised products on a national basis quickly,” said the ODI announcement. “Company staff can query the website by product, by state, or by requirement to determine what each state requires when developing a property and casualty insurance product.”

“This speed-to-market tool will go a long way to ensure that rates, rules, and forms are compliant with state laws before filings are made, and that will get new products to the market faster,” Saelens indicated. “The commitment from the first seven states has been tremendous and many other states are in the process of adding their regulatory requirements to the database. Our goal is to include comprehensive property and casualty product requirements from every state by this summer.”

The Product Requirements Locator will catalog statutes, regulations, and other regulatory requirements for insurance products such as homeowners, personal auto, and medical malpractice for all states when the project is complete.

The ODI is also in the process of developing a similar national database for life and health insurance products that is expected to be unveiled during the second half of 2003.

Topics Legislation Ohio Property Casualty