Honors, Letters, Appeals

In this issue we introduce Benjamin Lawsky, the new Superintendent of New York’s newly combined Departments of Insurance and Banking and note, with pleasure, that Jim Wrynnwill remain on the team on the insurance side. Thanks to our Albany team for hammering out this piece on deadline, falling exactly the day of the confirmation hearings… …Jan Scites is a genuine professional and has been responsible for leading MSO to many of its successes – reported regularly in these pages. We thank her for taking the trouble to express her regard for our efforts in a kind and thoughtful letter. As editor, we usually count on letters of complaint and correction: She writes: “Steve: We just received our renewal form for our monthly advertorial submission to the Insurance Advocate. We are delighted to let you know that we will be renewing for another year. We also wanted to let you know how much we value the relationship with your organization. You have a very professional team and the quality of the work they do is excellent. MSO, Inc. has had excellent feedback from carriers and producers on the advertorials that we publish in the Insurance Advocate. In addition, we have received many requests from carriers to use the advertorials as part of their newsletters or mailings to insureds.Steve, thank you for helping us to provide content about relevant insurance topics that advance the knowledge of the producers and continue to improve the insurance industry’s professionalism. Best, Jan” Makes it worth while. Thank you…..When PIA NY –NJ- CT gathers in Atlantic City June 12-14, the combined three state event will include the honoring of Ellen Kiehl, Ph.D for her 35 years of service to their members, the industry and PIA. PIA’s Senior Research Analyst will receive the unprecedented three-state Distinguished Insurance Service Award. We add our congratulations and look forward to seeing you at the three day series of activities….….. IIABNY will file with a formal appeal of a court ruling that upheld Reg 194. The appeal will be filed with the State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division, Third Department in Albany within the next several weeks. IIABNY President and CEO Richard A. Poppa said, “Regulation 194 is a costly and unnecessary burden on law-abiding insurance agents and brokers. We are going to appeal the ruling because our members expect us to and because it is the right thing to do.” New York Insurance Regulation 194, which took effect on January 1, requires agents and brokers to tell clients how insurance companies pay them, whether the clients have asked or not, in IIABNY’s words. Should a client have questions about the producer’s compensation, the producer must provide, in addition to that information, many other details about the policy sold and policies the client rejected. This means the producer would have to disclose, among other things:

• Differences in types and amounts of coverage;

• Contrasts in policy terms; and

• The pay he would have received had the client chosen a different policy.

Back in 2004, the Big I called on insurance agents and brokers to disclose to their clients the existence and nature of all their compensation voluntarily. It has opposed mandated disclosures as “burdensome for producers and of little benefit to consumers.” IIABNY and the Council of Insurance Brokers of Greater New York, launched a legal challenge to the regulation, arguing that New York State insurance law does not give the Insurance Department the power to make these demands. They also said that the regulation is arbitrary and imposes large, needless compliance costs on producers.

On November 19, Acting Supreme Court Justice Richard M. Platkin issued an opinion disagreeing on each count. IIABNY Chair of the Board Christopher A. Brassard said, “IIABNY is continuing the fight against this unfair regulation. Our members deserve no less.” He added, “While we agree that consumers who want information about a producer’s compensation should get it, we oppose this ‘one size fits all’ regulation that has added unnecessary paperwork and effort to producers’ obligations. We support a system in which producers can have appropriate discussions with their customers as needed.” The IIABNY board has instructed the law firm of Keidel, Weldon & Cunningham, LLP to finish preparing the filing. The firm expects to have the filing ready by late June or early July…. Looking forward to reading Adam Friedlanders’ new tome “How to Save Big on Workers’ Compensation.” Adam’s a serious professional and a clear-headed writer. Look for our review.