A group of five state insurance commissioners have announced a settlement agreement with United Healthcare Insurance Company following a multi–year review of certain company processes.
The chief regulators from Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa and New York have been working on a process improvement plan with United Healthcare that will be enacted in all states, subject to final approval by state regulators throughout the country.
Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, Chair of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) Market Regulation and Consumer Affairs Committee and the Market Analysis Working Group, hailed the agreement as a step forward in the partnership of the states.
“As we move forward in our goal to work in a collaborative fashion, this agreement demonstrates that the states are committed to working together for the benefit of all consumers and the industry,” he said.
Kreidler stated that details of the agreement will be forthcoming once all commissioners have had the opportunity to sign on to the document and the agreement becomes effective.
The Market Analysis Working Group identifies and reviews insurance companies exhibiting characteristics that indicate a current or potential market regulatory issue that may impact multiple jurisdictions. The Working Group helps determine what regulatory action might be taken and supports collaborative actions in addressing market regulatory issues.
The Working Group’s charges for 2007 are (1) to develop recommendations on how to encourage states to take steps regarding duplicative examinations and develop ways to encourage collaboration, (2) to coordinate state examinations, (3) to develop a process on how states should lead collaborative examinations and analysis, and (4) to develop a process to perform post mortems on market regulation issues and use those to make recommendations to enhance reports and analysis.
About the NAIC
Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is a voluntary organization of the chief insurance regulatory officials of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the five U.S. territories. The NAIC’s overriding objective is to assist state insurance regulators in protecting consumers and helping maintain the financial stability of the insurance industry by offering financial, actuarial, legal, computer, research, market conduct and economic expertise. Formed in 1871, the NAIC is the oldest association of state officials. For more than 135 years, state-based insurance supervision has served the needs of consumers, industry and the business of insurance at-large by ensuring hands-on, frontline protection for consumers, while providing insurers the uniform platforms and coordinated systems they need to compete effectively in an ever-changing marketplace. For more information, visit NAIC on the Web at: http://www.naic.org/press_home.htm.
