HR7130-119

What This Bill Does

The McCarran-Ferguson Restoration Act eliminates the Federal Insurance Office and Director but preserves Treasury authority over insurance matters. It creates a United States Insurance Representative within Treasury within one year and authorizes hiring insurance experts. The Representative coordinates federal policy on prudential international insurance matters, represents Treasury at the International Association of Insurance Supervisors, assists with covered agreements, determines whether state insurance measures are preempted by covered agreements, assists the Terrorism Insurance Program, consults with state insurance regulators, and advises Treasury. The role covers prudential aspects of insurance and reinsurance except health insurance, most long-term care insurance, and crop insurance. State insurance measures can be preempted only when they treat covered foreign insurers less favorably than U.S. insurers and conflict with a covered agreement, after state consultation, USTR consultation, Federal Register notice, written comments, state and congressional notification, a delay of at least 30 days, APA procedures, and de novo judicial review. The bill protects state rate, premium, underwriting, sales, coverage, antitrust, capital, and solvency authority except for the covered-agreement conflict rule.

Who Benefits and How

State insurance regulators, U.S. insurers, international insurance negotiators, Treasury insurance experts, and terrorism insurance administrators benefit from a narrower federal office focused on prudential international matters and state consultation. Foreign insurers covered by international agreements benefit when discriminatory state measures can be preempted after process.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Treasury staff must abolish FIO, appoint the new Representative, hire experts, run notice-and-comment preemption reviews, consult USTR and states, issue regulations, report annually, and maintain international insurance coordination. State regulators and insurers must participate in consultations and may face federal preemption when state prudential measures conflict with covered agreements.

Key Provisions

• Eliminates the Federal Insurance Office and the Director of the Federal Insurance Office.
• Creates a United States Insurance Representative within Treasury within one year.
• Limits the Representative to prudential international insurance matters while excluding health, most long-term care, and crop insurance.
• Requires notice, consultation, comment, congressional notification, and APA review before covered-agreement preemption of state insurance measures.
• Protects state insurance authority over rates, premiums, underwriting, sales practices, coverage requirements, antitrust, capital, and solvency except for narrow covered-agreement conflicts.
• Requires annual preemption reports and an international insurance competitiveness study.