Second Report of the 2012 Session

A Quick Start - Might want want to contact your Senator

RICHMOND – On Monday afternoon, January 16 the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee will take up IIAV’s proposal on certificates of Insurance – SB 47 sponsored by Senator John Watkins. If your Senator is on the Commerce and Labor Committee – we would encourage you to contact them and ask that they support SB 47. Here’s a listing of the Senators on C&L:

2012 SESSION

Senate Commerce and Labor

MEMBERSHIP

Watkins (Chairman), Colgan, Saslaw, Miller, Y.B., Norment, Stosch, Edwards, Wagner, Newman, Puckett, Herring, Martin, Obenshain, Stuart, McWaters, Stanley

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We weren’t expecting SB 47 to come up so quickly but better now then never. Our bill has also been introduced in the House HB 867 by Senator Tom Rust but this bill is not on the committee docket as of yet. We continue to meet with legislators and industry representatives and have yet to find anyone who’s opposed to our certificate proposals….but we’ll soon see who shows up.

While we don’t normally ask that you call your legislator unless it’s necessary – call me a little paranoid on this one. We’ll report back to you following the Senate action and let you know what happened.

Looking at the rest of the proposals, there are certainly some interesting ones out there. We were certain that some legislation would be introduced related to earthquakes and sure enough there is/are. The ADMINISTRATION has asked for both HB 523 and SB 369 to be introduced which would require insurance companies to post a notice on policies that exclude coverage that earthquake coverage is excluded and that it may be available for an additional cost. A similar notice to that for flood polices. That will sure take care of the problem….right? I guess following an earthquake you would be able to use the affirmative defense against a claim saying that the General Assembly didn’t require discussion pre-purchase and the client simply didn’t read their policy.

This year you can certainly tell the “brochure bills” by the number of bills that would prohibit texting while driving. They’re too numerous to count. I once heard a policeman ask – for primary offense laws, “now how am I to know if someone is texting while driving?” If they’re driving erratically they can be stopped for that and cited for reckless driving. I don’t mean to diminish the concern for this important safety issue but isn’t reckless driving already illegal?

Take a look at the Legislative Table and if you have any questions or concerns about any of the proposals listed, please don’t hesitate to let me know. Also – PLEASE plan on attending IIAV’s Insurance Day on the Hill – co-hosted with the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors – Virginia Chapter and the Virginia Association of Health Underwriters. It’s critically important this year that insurance agents show their presence both from property/casualty industry but also the health insurance industry. Click here for a Day on the Hill registration form.

As always, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me by e-mail at Rbradshaw@iiav.com or through my cell phone at 804-929-4134.