Industry News

Bill Would Remove the Subpoena Power of the Federal Insurance Office 

WASHINGTON – The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) is pleased to endorse the Insurance Data Protection Act, introduced September 18 by Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI).

The Insurance Data Protection Act would bring about a series of reforms to the Federal Insurance Office (FIO), an unnecessary federal bureaucracy created in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The bill would meaningfully reform the FIO and protect consumers by limiting the sharing of non-publicly available data. 

“PIA believes that insurance should be regulated by state authorities, not the federal government,” said Jon Gentile, vice president of government relations for PIA. “The state insurance oversight regime has benefited consumers and the insurance industry for over a century.”

The bill would repeal the FIO Director’s subpoena and enforcement powers. “Its subpoena power is the FIO’s most powerful tool, so its elimination will help to counteract the FIO’s ever-expanding reach,” Gentile said. “The bill would also require the FIO to coordinate with state insurance regulators and consult publicly available sources to gather readily available data and limit unnecessary or duplicative data calls.”

PIA opposed the creation of the FIO from the outset and has long led the industry in the development and support of legislation that would fully repeal the FIO, and full repeal remains our long-term goal. We will continue to forcefully advocate for the passage of the FIO Elimination Act, which, at the urging of PIA, has been introduced in both the House and Senate across multiple Congresses. 

At the same time, we support practical reforms to the FIO that substantially reduce its power, particularly in domestic matters. We view the Insurance Data Protection Act as a step toward the restoration of the primacy of state regulation of insurance. 

Founded in 1931, PIA is a national trade association that represents member insurance agents and their employees who sell and service all kinds of insurance but specialize in coverage of automobiles, homes and businesses. PIA’s web address www.pianational.org