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California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner generally seems pleased the President Obama has proposed an Office of National Insurance without creating a federal regulator.
“The administration’s plan avoids the trap of creating a federal insurance regulator, which I have consistently opposed,” Poizner said in a statement. “It appropriately acknowledges the primary role the states play in regulating the insurance business to benefit consumers. State oversight of insurance companies, coordinated among all state regulators, is the reason that, among all the financial players in this country, it is the insurers who are and remain the most stable and the least in need of federal assistance.
“The plan also accepts that the insurance business is integrated into the larger, global financial landscape, and plays a role in the financial planning of most Americans,” he continued. “Those of us who regulate insurance at the state level want to share our knowledge and experience with the federal government, so that, together, we can prevent the kind of meltdown that the banking and investment sectors have exposed the entire world to. I am ready to work collaboratively to ensure the stability of all these integrated industries. ”
Commissioner Poizner has been an opponent of letting insurance companies choose their regulators. In April, he opposed the Royce-Bean legislation that provides for an optional federal charter for insurers and insurance producers. In addition, as the host Commissioner for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners conference in March in San Diego, Commissioner Poizner urged the state insurance regulators to be active in the fight against the optional federal charter.
Source: CDI