WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 16, 2014 — The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) applauds the U.S. House of Representatives for passing H.R. 5461, the “Insurance Capital Standards Clarification Act of 2014.” The legislation was passed by the full House today in a procedure called “suspension of the rules” which is designed for bills that have strong, bipartisan support.
The Big “I” supports Title I of this legislation which recognizes the unique nature of insurers as financial services providers and the inherit distinction between the banking and insurance markets. It clarifies that insurance companies subject to Federal Reserve oversight are not forced to comply with bank-centric capital standards.
“Today’s action by the House is a common-sense solution to a technical issue within Dodd-Frank,” says Charles Symington, Big “I” senior vice president of external and government affairs. “The Big ’I’ has long supported the premise that banking and insurance are different and therefore should have distinct regulatory standards. We appreciate the House vote on this legislation.”
The Senate passed S. 2270, the “Insurance Capital Standards Clarification Act of 2014,” in June, however that bill was passed alone and was not part of a series of Dodd-Frank fixes that the House included along with the passage of the Capitol Standards Clarification Act of 2014. Therefore, the House package will need to go back to the Senate for a final vote before it can become law.
Founded in 1896, the Big “I” is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing a network of more than 300,000 agents, brokers and their employees nationally. Its members are businesses that offer customers a choice of policies from a variety of insurance companies. Independent agents and brokers offer all lines of insurance—property, casualty, life, health, employee benefit plans and retirement products. Web address: www.independentagent.com.
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