Commissioner Senn Adopts Rule Allowing Deregulation of Rates For Large Businesses and Their Carriers.OLYMPIA Olympia, city, ancient Greece Olympia, ancient city, important center of the worship of Zeus in ancient Greece, in Elis near the Alpheus (now Alfiós) R. It was the scene of the Olympic games. , Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 15, 1999-- State Insurance Commissioner Deborah Senn Deborah Senn is a Washington politician. She was the Insurance Commissioner (1993-2001) and ran in the 2000 US Senate Democratic primary election against Maria Cantwell. In 2004, she unsuccessfully ran for Attorney General against Rob McKenna. Deborah also has her own law firm. has adopted a new rule that will allow deregulation Deregulation The reduction or elimination of government power in a particular industry, usually enacted to create more competition within the industry. Notes: Traditional areas that have been deregulated are the telephone and airline industries. of the rates large businesses pay to their insurance carriers. "This move has been endorsed by the businesses who will be affected by it as well as the insurance industry," Commissioner Senn said. "The key is to preserve consumer protections, which apply to businesses buying insurance as well as individuals - yet not limit the right of a business to obtain the best deal possible with its insurance carrier." The Office of the Insurance Commissioner still could investigate any suggestion that rates were unfair or improper
The rules only apply to very large businesses, which must be paying at least $25,000 annually in aggregate premiums on their property/casualty insurance coverage. The change does not affect other kinds of insurance, such as master policies or personal lines (for example, homeowner or private auto coverage). Furthermore, those excluded types of coverages cannot be used to add up toward the $25,000 minimum. In 1997, the Office of the Insurance Commissioner implemented a new law that permitted insurers to use certain contracts before they file them with the Office of the Insurance Commissioner. The latest change allows carriers and eligible businesses to agree on their rates without filing them with the state at all. However, the records still must be made available to the Office of the Insurance Commissioner on request. Commissioner Senn noted that the new rule does not apply to the insurance contracts businesses negotiate with insurers. State law requires those contracts to be filed with the Office of the Insurance Commissioner. About a dozen states so far have adopted similar deregulation statutes or regulations, and Commissioner Senn said she expected more states to join the deregulation effort in coming years. "The National Association of Insurance Commissioners The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is an Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which seeks to organize the regulatory and supervisory efforts of the various state insurance commissioners from around the United States. (NAIC NAIC See National Association of Investors Corporation (NAIC). ) has issued a white paper that generally encourages the states to look into these areas," Commissioner Senn said. "Many businesses have told us they feel it is a reasonable way to streamline the system and let them take more responsibility for their own property and casualty insurance coverage." Copies of the new rules are available on Commissioner Senn's web page ( http://www.insurance.wa.gov See .gov and GovNet. (networking) gov - The top-level domain for US government bodies. ) or by calling the OIC "Oh, I see." See digispeak. (chat) OIC - oh, I see. Rules Coordinator's Office, 360/664-3784. EDITORS: Any insurance consumer experiencing difficulties with a carrier or who feels that he or she has been treated unfairly may request an investigation by Commissioner Senn's office. Call the toll-free Consumer Hot Line (1-800-562-6900) or visit Commissioner Senn's Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the Web Page at http://www.insurance.wa.gov |
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