Minn. Adopts File and Use

Minnesota’s insurance marketplace will never be the same after lawmakers passed legislation that will make it easier for insurers to offer newer and improved products to its customers, according to a statement released by the Insurance Federation of Minnesota.

The bill makes a number of regulatory reforms, including:
—An expedited file and use system for auto and homeowner rate and form filings;
—An optional expedited filing system for life and annuity filings;
—Amending the independent agent termination provisions in current law to repeal the mandatory rehabilitation feature of the law and allow a more orderly and certain transition;
—Allowing coverage binders to be transmitted electronically;
—Relaxing the terms of the five-year repapering requirement to allow for consumer electronic retrieval of forms from the Internet in lieu of insurers sending out redundant paperwork.

The reforms combined will help reduce an agent’s workload and improve product availability for Minnesotans, IFM said in its statement.