Late last week, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-California), chairwoman of the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, and Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), chair of the Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion, sent letters to 27 of the largest property-casualty and life insurance companies requesting data on diversity and inclusion (D&I). 

Within the letter, Chairs Waters and Beatty note, “there is a concerning lack of publicly available data to effectively evaluate diversity among America's largest property, casualty, and life insurance companies. We believe transparency is a critical, first step to achieving progress. That is why your participation in this report is imperative in ensuring that the insurance industry is working toward a more equitable and opportune environment for everyone." 

Waters and Beatty have given the companies until May 6, to respond to the request for information. 

Previously, the committee had requested similar information from the nation's largest banks and investment firms. Those requests for data eventually led to the committee publishing two reports, “Diversity and Inclusion: Holding America's Biggest Banks Accountable," and “Diversity and Inclusion: Holding America's Largest Investment Firms Accountable." 

Wyatt Stewart is Big “I" assistant vice president of federal government affairs.