On June 15, 2009, five trade associations (the American Council of Life Insurers, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies, National Fraternal Congress of America, and the Life Insurance Council), which together represent the majority of the U.S. life insurance industry’s carriers and sales force, issued a joint statement (the “Statement”) supporting “responsibly crafted optional federal insurance regulation, with continued viable state regulation.”
According to the Statement, the five trade associations support optional federal regulation for a number of reasons, including the following:
- It would create uniform consumer protections, ensuring that consumers have the same protections and rights, regardless of where they live now or in the future.
- It would streamline inconsistent rules and licensing requirements for agents that conduct business in multiple states.
- It would create uniform, national regulation for both life insurance and life reinsurance.
- It would allow U.S. insurers to compete successfully in the global marketplace by creating a federal authority to represent the industry when negotiating international insurance and reinsurance regulatory standard setting and mutual recognition agreements.