Last week, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners announc
ed its agenda for 2025, including the call to eliminate the U.S. Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office.
This comes on the heels of legislation, the Federal Insurance Office Elimina
tion Act, introduced in January by Montana Congressman Troy Downing, R-Mont.
The purpose of H.R. 643 is to return regulatory authority over the insurance industry back to the states.
Previously, Downing served as Montana State Auditor, overseeing the Treasure S
tate’s securities and insurance industries. He has been a staunch advocate in favor of abolishing the FIO.
“The law is clear. Regulation of the insurance industry rests with the states, not big
O is a duplicative federal bureaucracy whose existence hinders the efforts of state regulators better equipped to address the insurance need
s of their communities. I was pr
oud to call for FIO’s abolishment as Montana State Auditor, and I gladly do it n
ow as a Congressman and member of the House Financial Services Committee.”
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Most recently, a multi-state coalition of Insurance Commissioners urged th
e Department of Government Efficiency to eliminate the office.
The NAIC states that the “FIO stands in direct conflict with the states’ role as pri
mary regulators, complicates the states’ engagement with fellow insurance regulators globally, duplicates confidential data collection fr
om the insurance industry, and blurs the line that separates Treasury from independent financial regulators.”
In 1945, Congress passed the McCarran-Ferguson Act, solidifying states’ regulato
ry authority over the insurance industry, but in 2010, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act created the
FIO as a subsidiary of the Treasury, charging FIO with “the authority to monitor all aspects of the insurance sector.”
H.R. 643 has received support from the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA), the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC), and the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (Big “I”).
“The Federal Insurance Office Elimination Act will protect the successful state insurance regulatory system by repealing the [FIO], an unnecessary federal bureaucracy created in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.” said PIA CEO Mike Skiados. “The proper place for the regulation of insurance is at the state level, which has served the insurance industry and consumers well for over a century and is better positioned to protect consumers in the future. PIA thanks Rep. Troy Downing for his leadership in protecting the state insurance regulatory system.”
“Since its inception, and especially recently, the Federal Insurance Office has pushed the bounds of its statutory mandate as an informational resource for federal policymakers,” said NAMIC SVP of Federal and Political Affairs Jimi Grande. “FIO has become a tool for political agendas, overreaching and creating confusion and burdensome costs for consumers, often just to duplicate the work of state insurance regulators.”
