Congress Opens with Big To-Do List

As the House and Senate convened the 112th Congress, the Big “I” Capitol Hill team was already hard at work making sure the association’s 300,000 members have a voice in Washington.

The Big “I” celebrated several victories during the 111th Congress that set the stage for a busy

2011. Among the many accomplishments of the last Congress were a two-year extension of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, a one-year extension of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the introduction and House passage of the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers Reform Act (NARAB II) and impressive participation in the Big “I” political action committee (InsurPac). In 2010, many of the headlines were dominated by the health care reform and financial services overhaul bills. Although the Big “I” did not support either of these bills, the association worked to ensure that the final laws were not as harmful to the independent agency system as originally proposed.

The 112th Congress will bring its own set of challenges and opportunities that the Big “I” Capitol Hill team looks forward to facing.

Health Care Reform: The Big “I” continues to work on an array of issues associated with the Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and its implementation. Two pressing issues are the application of the Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) formula and the 1099 tax form provision. The association firmly believes that if these two provisions are not amended, they will directly harm small businesses and lead to job losses, so it is working in support of legislative efforts to make these changes as soon as possible. The Big “I” also continues to work with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the National Association of Insurance Commissions (NAIC), individual states and others to create health benefit exchanges in anticipation of the corresponding 2013/2014 deadlines in the new law.

Financial Services Regulation: As the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform & Consumer Protection Act that was signed into law in 2010 takes effect, the Big “I” is working to ensure that the new federal entities established by the law are held to their congressional mandates and do not infringe upon state regulation of insurance which continues to work well. These new entities include the Financial Stability Oversight Council, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Insurance Office (FIO). The Big “I” will also continue working with the states to implement the surplus lines provisions of the law which are scheduled to take effect in July 2011. In addition, the Big “I” will continue advocating for passage of nonresident agent licensing reform through NARAB II as well as guard against the creation of day-to-day federal insurance regulation via the “optional” federal charter.

Flood Insurance Reform: The last few years have seen ever increasing skepticism on both sides of the aisle regarding the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which in turn has impacted flood agents, homeowners and businesses. The NFIP’s current authorization expires on Sept. 30, 2011. The Big “I” will continue to lead efforts in 2011 to gain support for a long-term extension and much needed reforms to the NFIP.

Crop Insurance and the 2012 Farm Bill: In 2010, against the wishes of the Big “I” and thousands of crop insurance agents, farmers and ranchers across the country, the Standard Reinsurance Agreement negotiations led by the Obama administration imposed a cap on agent commissions and cut the crop insurance program by $6 billion. In 2011, Congress will begin consideration of the 2012 Farm Bill, and the Big “I” will be busy spreading the word on Capitol Hill regarding the important role that the crop insurance program plays in our nation’s agriculture and economy. The Big “I” will strenuously oppose any additional efforts to cut the crop insurance program and will ensure that the SRA doesn’t undermine the private delivery of crop insurance.

Margarita Tapia (margarita.tapia@iiaba.net) is the director of public affairs.


Big “I” to Take On Capitol Hill
More than a thousand independent insurance agents and brokers will make the annual pilgrimage to Washington, D.C., on April 13–15 for the 2011 Big “I” Legislative Conference & Convention (LCC). On

Thurs., April 14, they will spread out to hundreds of Capitol Hill offices to lobby members of the House, Senate and their staffs to reiterate to our nation’s decision makers that independent agents are in every state and in every district and that they participate in the legislative process.

Members and staff look forward to the yearly updates from agent and broker delegations from their home states to discuss important issues that impact not just agents, but the consumers they serve and all small businesses.

The Legislative Conference & Convention is the insurance industry’s best-attended, most effective legislative event of its kind and will include in-depth issue briefing sessions, speeches by congressional leaders, a panel discussion with top insurance carrier CEOs, a state of the association address by Big “I” chairman Mike Miley and appearances by numerous high-profile industry speakers.

Big “I” members are the backbone of the property-casualty insurance market, and on April 14 they will deliver this message to their representatives in Congress. For more information and to register, visit www.independentagent.com/events.
—M.T.