Elizabeth Warren Insurance Deregulation Amendment Raises Federal Standard For Agents

[onehandle]

Source: Huffington Post

WASHINGTON -- The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Thursday approved new bipartisan legislation to deregulate the insurance industry, but not before Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) snagged a small victory for consumers.

The deregulation bill, authored by Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), will create a new federal licensing program for insurance agents that would replace the current state-by-state system.

Warren's amendment, her first in the banking committee, would strengthen consumer safeguards by raising federal standards for the new insurance agent license. The amendment's language requires anyone who serves on the board responsible for establishing the new federal licensing standards to have "demonstrated expertise" in life insurance, health insurance, or property and casualty insurance before being granted a 50-state license. The amendment was approved with the unanimous consent of the committee.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/06/elizabeth-warren-insurance-deregulation_n_3397162.html

[L0oniX]

1. This will have no affect on bad faith insurance corporatations.

[Paulie]

3. Make the agents fiduciary. That would do it.

They don't serve the interests of their customers they would be open to liability.

[dflprincess]

2. Because dergulation of other industries has turned out so well for us

nice to know they can be bipartisan when it comes to screwing us.

[madville]

4. That sounds like a nightmare

More power to the agent that can comprehend the 50 state patchwork of insurance regulations in order to pass a federal licensing exam.

[KT2000]

5. so it begins

next stop - obliterating the consumer protections the states have enacted to be replaced by "national" insurance with no consumer protections.