The three politicians who want to be Georgia’s next insurance commissioner see eye-to-eye on the need for the insurance regulator to be involved in attracting new insurers and insurance jobs to the state.
According to an Insurance Journal survey, Democrat Mary Squires and Republican Ralph Hudgens also agree on the importance of the role played by independent insurance agents in the insurance system, while the third candidate, Libertarian Shane Bruce, fears the best days for independent agents may be behind them.
Bruce said he thinks independent agents may have peaked several years ago.
“Like the travel agents of the ’90s, today’s independent rep is facing huge pressures from the Internet not to mention the looming disaster of Obamacare. What will their jobs become when the basic product they sell has no profit margin?” Bruce wrote when asked for his view on the role independent agents play in insurance.
Squires described independent agents as essential. “Independent insurance agents are on the front line in communities, helping consumers select appropriate products to meet their personal and business coverage needs. It is often the independent agent that is first aware of changing consumer needs, rating issues, and functional or flawed regulations. Independent agents provide greater options providing a “better fit” for consumers,” she wrote.
Republican Hudgens had similar praise. “Independent agents are the very backbone of our insurance marketplace and truly effective agents are very often the consumer’s most trusted source of information on products and services,” he said.
(The first report from the Insurance Journal survey of Georgia insurance commissioner candidates published Oct. 19 covered the candidates’ views on credit scoring, emergency response fees and legislated caps on malpractice awards. The second report focused on the candidates’ top priorities and their views on the role of state regulation and limits on insurance political contributions.)
According to the survey, all candidates agree that part of the insurance commissioner’s job is to help attract more insurers and insurance jobs to Georgia.
Squires has plans to, as she puts it, make “Georgia the number one Insurance and Risk Finance Hub in the nation.” The former legislator says she wants the graduates of Georgia’s insurance and risk management schools to stay in the state.
Hudgens praised insurance companies that move call centers, service centers and corporate offices to Georgia. “These types of investments generate clean, well-paying jobs,” he noted.
One of the ways Georgia might increase the number of insurers and jobs in the state is to lower its premium tax, according to both Squires and Bruce.
“We can increase competition and bring new jobs to Georgia by making the Department of Insurance fast and efficient; focus on lowering the premium tax; and eliminate the backlog of fraud, abuse, and unpaid legitimate claims that makes Georgia unattractive to insurers and consumers,” Squires said.
Bruce would go beyond the premium tax. “In order to attract more providers we have to get our insurance premium tax out of the equation. We have also got to drop our 45 health insurance mandates and insist that providers make them optional,” he believes.
Hudgens said he is committed to upholding stability in the insurance marketplace as a means to creating jobs. “When policies are marketed, underwritten, issued and claims are adjusted, jobs are created. If we are to enjoy all of the opportunities that a strong insurance market affords then both insurers and consumers need an even-handed regulator. I am committed to stability in the marketplace,” the Republican state senator said.
As for stability in the office of insurance commissioner, the three maintained they are not using the post of insurance commissioner as a stepping stone to higher office.
Bruce suggested it would not be a very smart move anyway. “This is a trick question, right? John Oxendine was stuck there for 16 years until he got his head handed to him in the Republican Governors primary,” he responded.
This is Part 3 and the final part of the series on Georgia’s insurance commissioner candidates. Don’t miss:
Georgia Insurance Commissioner Candidates, Part 2:
Their Top 3 Priorities; Role of State Regulation, Money
Georgia Insurance Commissioner Candidates, Part 1:
Where They Stand On Credit Scoring, Tort Reform
Topics Carriers Legislation Agencies Georgia
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