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Jessica
Hanson
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Phone:
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202-286-5446
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Jessica.Hanson@pciaa.net
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PROPERTY-CASUALTY INDUSTRY JOINT STATEMENT ON PASSAGE OF
H.R. 4626
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WASHINGTON – David A. Sampson, president and CEO of the
Property Casualty Insurers of American (PCI) and Leigh Ann Pusey, president and
CEO of the American Insurance Association (AIA) issued the following joint
statement today regarding H.R. 4626, the Health Insurance Industry Fair
Competition Act. The legislation, sponsored by Reps. Tom Perriello (D-VA) and Betsy
Markey (D-CO), amends the McCarran-Ferguson Act for health insurers. The
legislation, as passed, does not include a provision that would impact medical
professional liability insurance.
“We are pleased that lawmakers acknowledged that medical
professional liability insurance is not a health insurance product and was not
included in the final bill. It’s also a testament to the industry’s efforts to
educate lawmakers about the competition in the property-casualty sector and the
regulatory tools in place that protect consumers and promote competition in the
marketplace.
“The McCarran-Ferguson Act was created to delegate
insurance regulation and the enforcement of antitrust laws to the states. It
was never intended to give insurers a blanket exemption from antitrust laws.
Changing the antitrust rules under McCarran upsets the careful balance of
regulatory and antitrust policy, which as discussed in the January 2010
Congressional Research Services report, could lead to less competition in the
insurance marketplace.”
PCI is composed of more than 1,000 member companies,
representing the broadest cross-section of insurers of any national trade
association. PCI members write over $180 billion in annual premium, 37.4
percent of the nation’s property casualty insurance. Member companies write 44
percent of the U.S. automobile insurance market, 30.7 percent of the homeowners
market, 35.1 percent of the commercial property and liability market, and 41.7
percent of the private workers compensation market.
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