Please rank the following legislative/regulatory issues in the order of most importance to least (1 being most important):
If there is another concern you wish to have considered, please note that in the Comments section below.
Cybersecurity regulation for agents/brokers
In 2016, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the first-in-the-nation regulation that requires insurance agents and brokers among other entities to establish and maintain a cybersecurity program designed to protect consumers. This regulation has been incredibly difficult for agents and brokers to comply with and affects resident and nonresident licensees alike. Since then, it has been incorporated in the latest draft of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners model legislation. PIACT will bring the topic to the attention of Commissioner Wade in an attempt to mitigate its impact on agents and brokers who have resident and nonresident licenses in Connecticut.
Health-care commissions
In January 2017, Access Health Connecticut’s board of directors voted unanimously to require insurance carriers participating in the exchange to pay broker commissions in 2018 at the same level as they pay brokers for enrolling individuals in plans outside the exchange. PIACT has advocated and will continue to advocate for health-care commissions to be mandated both on and off the exchange in an effort to aid agents and brokers who are suffering a loss of income due to commission cuts in both markets.
Liquor liability insurance requirements
During the 2016 legislative session, PIACT introduced and advocated for mandatory liquor liability insurance for all establishments that serve liquor on their premises. Under current Connecticut law, it is not required for an establishment that serves alcoholic beverages to carry liquor liability insurance. While there is a dram-shop law in effect which imposes liability on the seller of alcohol and allows for an injured party to sue that seller, it does not provide any guarantee that they will be able to recover their damages. A mandatory liquor liability policy required prior to the granting of a liquor permit would provide the consumer with a guarantee that financial recourse is available.
Uniform condominium deductible assessments
Some PIACT members have been given conflicting opinions about the insurance coverage that is required to be provided by a condominium association. This may, in part, be explained by the fact that there is more than one law which governs these associations. Connecticut has enacted three laws since 1963 that have governed the creation and maintenance of condominium associations. However, only the Condominium Act of 1976 and the Common Interest Ownership Act of 1984 remain in force today. With few exceptions, associations that have been created on or after Jan. 1, 1984, are governed solely by the CIOA. The confusion caused by the lack of uniformity as to how HO-6 carriers respond to these situations is constant.
Running mandatory MVRs before binding coverage
Members of PIACT have asked the association to research the feasibility of mandating carriers who utilize a motor vehicle report as a rating or underwriting factor for personal-auto policies to run these reports prior to binding coverage. This has been mentioned in other states as well. PIACT would present the idea to the Insurance Department as a proposed regulatory matter.
Association continuing-education legislation
This proposal would allow the Connecticut insurance commissioner to grant continuing-education credits for membership in good standing of a qualified association. The concept recognizes that Connecticut’s insurance producer associations promote professionalism, best practices, ethical compliance, continuing-education training and networking opportunities to their members; and that membership in these associations provides younger members an opportunity to be mentored by more established insurance producers thereby enhancing their business prospects.
