Piany Sets Metro Rap; Supt. Gets Gfin to NY; Big I Applauds Action

The Professional Insurance Agents of New York State (PIANY) will host its first Regional Awareness Program of 2020 on January 30th from 8 a.m.to 5:00 p.m in Manhattan called MetroRAP. More than 400 agents, company representatives, exhibitors and other insurance industry professionals from the greater New York metropolitan region and downstate New York are expected to attend the event set for Sheraton New York on Times Square. The day includes a buffet lunch,  trade show, education sessions featuring two morning education sessions featuring John Fear, CISR, CPIA, on Maximizing Efficiency—Using Outlook to Manage Time, Tasks & Emails and How to Get to the Top of the Submission Pile, taught by PIANY Director Leslie Rogoff. Fear will present Errors & Omissions—Avoiding Coverage Gaps in the afternoon session. InsureTech innovators will offer demonstrations on how their products can enrich an agency’s business.Attendees will have the opportunity to attend these demonstrations during the buffet lunch. The New York Young Insurance Professionals will host a welcome reception on Wednesday evening, Jan. 29 from 6:30-8:30 pm at Connolly’s Times Square, 121 West 45th St., New York, N.Y.

Superintendent of Financial Services Linda A. Lacewell has just announced that the Department of Financial Services (DFS) will host the 2nd annual meeting of the Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN), a consortium of 50 international regulators and related organizations committed to putting consumers at the center of financial innovation. “DFS is thrilled to be chosen as host of the second GFIN annual meeting, and I welcome our global colleagues to New York, the financial capital of the world and a global hub of innovation,” said Superintendent Lacewell. We look forward to collaborating with our global peers to foster consumer-centric innovation, as well as showcase everything this great state has to offer.” And from Matthew Homer: “Fostering responsible innovation is a top priority for the Department and we welcome our fellow regulators to New York to discuss the balance between innovation and regulation,” said Homer who is Executive Deputy Superintendent of Research and Innovation. “We look forward to regulatory collaboration to encourage the growth of the fintech industry.” Earlier this year, DFS became the first U.S. state banking regulator to join GFIN after Superintendent Lacewell traveled to Europe and met with international regulators. DFS’ international scope and reach makes it an ideal host for GFIN’s international membership and the state’s dynamic fintech scene provides an ideal backdrop for this meeting. GFIN members will have the opportunity to interact with the New York fintech community through the many other events organized during NY FinTech Week. As the regulator for both banking and insurance in New York, DFS oversees a combined $7.3 trillion in assets, and supervises and regulates the branches, agencies, and representative offices of over 80% of t foreign banks operating in the United States. Partnerships like GFIN help further position DFS as the regulator of the future, while upholding New York State’s status as the center of financial services innovation and regulation…..

Congrats to the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) for its role in spurring the U.S. Senate to pass legislation that reauthorizes the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), extends the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and repeals the Affordable Care Act’s “Cadillac tax,” all as part of government funding legislation. “The Big ‘I’ would like to thank the U.S. Senate for closing out the year with great news for independent agents,” says Bob Rusbuldt, Big “I” president & CEO. “We are grateful that the passage of government funding legislation included a long-term reauthorization of TRIA, an extension of the NFIP and a repeal of the ‘Cadillac tax’ – three of our major priorities. We now urge President Trump to quickly sign this package into law. The Big ‘I’ also wants to thank Sens. Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota) and Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico) for their tireless efforts that have finally led to Congress’ repeal of the “Cadillac tax” after years of delays. Without repeal, this harmful tax would have been crippling to many of our small business members and their clients and would have only worsened over time. The damage to the employee benefits marketplace could have been devastating.” This bipartisan agreement between House and Senate leaders which passed in the House earlier this week would fund the government until September 30, 2020. It would also reauthorize several important programs including TRIA and the NFIP. TRIA was scheduled to expire at the end of 2020 and will be extended for seven additional years in this package. The NFIP was scheduled to expire tomorrow on December 20. This legislation would extend the program through September 30, 2020. Additionally, this package included a repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s “Cadillac tax,” which would have imposed a 40% tax in 2022 on health benefits that exceed an established annual cost. “The Big ‘I’ would like to thank Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) for their hard work throughout the year on the reauthorization of TRIA,” says Charles Symington, Big “I” senior vice president of external, industry and government affairs. “TRIA is vitally important to maintaining the stability of the economy and the strength of the commercial property-casualty insurance market. Due to the nature of insurance contracts, we are especially grateful the program was reauthorized for seven years well in advance of its scheduled expiration at the end of next year, bringing additional confidence to the marketplace. The Big ‘I’ is also thankful that this bill includes funding of the NFIP through next September after a succession of short-term extensions that caused uncertainty for independent agents and consumers. We ask Congress to continue to consider a multi-year reauthorization that would modernize the program as well.” We’d like to thank them as well.SA