The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) concluded its Summer National Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky last week. One of the topics that received significant attention during the six-day event is the emergence of ridesharing.

The rapid growth of ridesharing companies (or transportation network companies) such as Lyft, UberX and Sidecar has caused many states and municipalities to examine these new marketplace players and consider how they should be regulated. Insurance regulators, like many within the private sector, are concerned about the insurance coverage implications and potential gaps in coverage related to ridesharing. The NAIC formed a new working group–chaired by California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones–to examine insurance-related issues associated with ridesharing and issued two consumer alerts that call attention to the potential insurance problems associated with driving a rideshare vehicle and riding in one. Although this was the first extended discussion of ridesharing issues at the NAIC, the focus on these issues is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. 

Regulators also discussed topics related to agent and broker licensing and oversight. The NAIC’s Producer Licensing Task Force is currently chaired by Utah Insurance Commissioner and longtime Big “I” member Todd Kiser, and some of the meeting’s producer-specific highlights include:

•           The NAIC adopted a best practices guide for continuing education classes that are offered in a webinar format and began discussions of online classes that lack the interactive nature of webinars. The regulators intend to develop a similar best practices document for online classes that include an examination component. 

•           Regulators discussed the licensing requirements that apply to surplus lines brokers and ultimately decided to survey the states to determine the types of requirements that exist today. It is unclear what future action (if any) might be taken with regard to surplus lines licensing, but the apparent lack of clarity and uniformity in this area could lead to further activity.

•           Regulators announced their intention to review and potentially revise the NAIC’s model procedures related to emergency adjusters. 

The NAIC also created a new working group that will focus on the response of the insurance industry and regulators to catastrophic events. The mission of the new group is somewhat open-ended, but it will (among other issues) examine the prevalence of unauthorized public adjusters in post-catastrophe environments and consider whether tighter oversight is warranted. 

The direction and governance of the NAIC remains a somewhat divisive topic among regulators, and competing views were on display during the meeting of the organization’s Governance Review Task Force. During the session, which was cancelled and then reinstated after objections were raised, several commissioners raised concerns about the manner in which the NAIC intends to select an outside firm to review, assess and provide recommendations concerning its governance. Proposals from interested consultants were due to the NAIC on Aug. 15, and it is hoped that an initial report and recommendations from the consultant that is selected will be provided to the NAIC by November.

Wes Bissett is Big “I” outside senior counsel of government affairs.