Legislative Victories
Talking about and listing legislative victories for any lobbying organization is difficult because many of the “victories” involve defeating legislation that would be negative to Big I Indiana members. Most bad bills are killed behind the scenes with little or no fanfare and correspondingly, how the process works is difficult to talk about.
Indiana is fortunate to have a very positive climate for the property and casualty insurance industry – and that has not happened by accident. The Big I Indiana and other insurance organizations have worked tirelessly over the years to stop legislation that would have a negative impact on the industry and support and pass legislative proposals that would be of benefit to independent agents, the insurance industry, and our clients.
The Big I Indiana has experienced a number of positive victories in the legislative and regulatory arenas over the last couple of decades. Those wins, and the areas of impact for our members are listed below.
Making Doing Business Simpler and Less Expensive
The Big I Indiana worked with the Indiana legislature to place what the Indiana Department of Insurance may charge for licensing fees into the Indiana code, which means that the IDOI needs legislative approval to increase these fees. The result has been among the lowest licensing fees in the country.
The Big I also was able to get licensed agents exempted from three laws/regulations that would have led to regulation and expense in order to do business in Indiana. Those are:
- Exempted from the Indiana “Do-Not-Call” list
- Exempted from the state’s privacy notification regulations
- Most member agencies exempted from the Indiana insurance industry cyber security law
Passing and Updating Indiana’s Producer Licensing and Continuing Education Laws
The Big I Indiana has been the main driving force in implementing Indiana’s producer licensing and continuing education laws – keeping them fair to producers while also maintaining the integrity of the laws themselves.
Giving Agents the Ability to Charge Fees Fairly
The association was instrumental in passing legislation giving agents the ability to charge fees on commercial and personal lines accounts, while at the same time maintaining strong consumer protections to prevent abuses.
Supporting a Strong Indiana Workers’ Comp System
The association has worked with insurance companies and the business community to help keep Indiana’s workers’ compensation system as strong as it is for injured workers, yet affordable for businesses. This has been done through changing the reimbursement system to pay for worker’s comp injuries to a model that is based on what Medicare pays to help keep costs down. The Big I has also been an advocate for competitive benefit levels for injured workers in the state.
An Advocate for Tort Reform
The Big I has played a secondary supportive role in the passage of several pertinent pieces of tort reform legislation in Indiana over the years. Included are the implementation of laws establishing a modified “no pay, no play” system, a seat belt defense law and most recently, legislation designed to provide more transparency in the lawsuit funding industry in an attempt to limit nuclear jury verdicts.
Advocating for Indiana’s Insurance Consumers
The Big I Indiana was a main advocate for passing one of the most stringent credit scoring regulation laws in the country, which protects both agents and consumers. The association also was instrumental in passing legislation regulating banks in insurance and implementing strong anti-tying language into the Indiana code. The Big I also assisted other industry groups in passing legislation reigning in unscrupulous “storm scammers” and helping prevent them from preying on Indiana residents impacted by storms.
A Leader in Safe Driving Laws
The Big I Indiana was the only state agent association advocating for the passage of Indiana’s graduated drivers license law for young drivers. It also has been a vocal advocate for the passage of various laws designed to strengthen Indiana’s financial responsibility laws and led the charge on establishing laws and regulations overseeing transportation network companies and food delivery companies to ensure that drivers for these entities have strong limits to provide a level of protection for other drivers in the state.
This is just a sampling of the positive impact made by the Big I Indiana in the legislative and regulatory arenas in the last couple of decades. For more information on the Big I Indiana’s lobbying and advocacy efforts, please contact Steve Duff at [email protected].