NON-ADMITTED INSURANCE REFORM BILL OFFERS
POSITIVE CHANGES FOR THE SURPLUS LINES MARKET
Harmonization of state laws will streamline efficiency

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 21— The National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices, Ltd. (NAPSLO) the nation's leading trade association for surplus lines brokers and companies, praised the introduction of the Non-Admitted and Reinsurance Reform Act of 2006 (H.R. 5637), during a congressional hearing on Wednesday.  

In testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises, Richard Bouhan, Executive Director and General Counsel for NAPSLO, praised Subcommittee Richard Baker and Representatives Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL) and Dennis Moore (D-KS) for introducing this important regulatory reform legislation.    

"We are pleased that Chairman Baker has taken the surplus lines and reinsurance concepts from the original draft of the State Modernization and Regulatory Transparency Act (SMART Act) proposal and addressed them in a separate bill in an effort to speed the advancement of these proposals through the legislative process," said Bouhan.  "This legislation will bring much-needed relief to the complex and confusing surplus lines regulatory process, and we are grateful that many of NAPSLO's concerns are directly addressed in the bill." 

Many of the bill's provisions, including the creation of a uniform system of premium tax allocation and remittance, uniform standards for producer licenses, one-state compliance on multi-state surplus lines risks, and direct access to the surplus lines market for sophisticated purchasers are concepts long endorsed by NAPSLO.  "We believe that this legislation will significantly increase the level of efficiency for surplus lines insurance, particularly across multiple jurisdictions, for everyone involved in the non-admitted market, from the companies down to the consumers.  We appreciate the Subcommittee's leadership on this issue, and for making insurance regulatory reform a priority."  

A complete copy of Mr. Bouhan’s testimony is available on the Legislation/Regulation section of the NAPSLO website (www.napslo.org), under the News heading. 

NAPSLO BACKGROUND
Founded in 1974, NAPSLO is a national trade association representing the surplus lines insurance industry. NAPSLO acts as a source of information for the media, Congress, state governments, and other segments of the insurance industry explaining the vital role the surplus lines industry plays for consumers and in the nation’s economy. 

Surplus lines is a specialized segment of the insurance business that is also referred to as non-admitted, specialty and/or excess lines.  Risks are placed with the surplus lines market when they cannot be placed in the admitted/licensed market. NAPSLO membership consists of wholesale surplus lines insurance agents/brokers and surplus lines insurance companies. It’s members have offices in all 50 states, Canada, Germany, England and Bermuda.