National Jul 11, 2016

Obama nominates three to NARAB board

President Barack Obama has nominated three individuals to sit on the governing board of the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers. President Obama nominated the following individuals:

• John M. Huff, director of the Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registrations;
• Robert Suglia, senior vice president and general counsel at Amica Mutual Insurance Co. Rhode Island; and
• Lori Wing-Heier, director of the Alaska Division of Insurance of the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development.

NARAB, which was created in January 2015, would provide nonresident licensing reciprocity among states by creating a nonprofit corporation that would establish criteria and grant a license to enable producers, duly licensed in their home states, to sell products that they are  licensed to sell in their home states, in any state.

The legislation that created NARAB required that a governing board be established consisting of 13 members, comprised of eight state insurance regulators, three individuals with expertise in property/casualty insurance and licensing, and two with experience in the life or health insurance.

Originally, nominations to the NARAB board were to be completed within three months of the law’s enactment. However, more than a year later, only eight members of the board have been nominated and none have been confirmed by the Senate, a necessary step for any presidential appointment.

PIA supported the passage of NARAB and will continue to encourage urgency in the establishment of this important entity.