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Legislative Update/IIAA Insider - March 1, 2019
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SEVEN WEEKS AND THE PRESSURE IS BUILDING!
Today marks the end of seven weeks of the legislative session. As of last night, 1079 bills have been introduced. Many have worked their way through both ends of the Capitol (House and Senate) but that leaves hundreds that are stacking up in the committees.
So, the days of going home early on Thursdays will likely come to an end; there will be long hearings sometimes lasting into the early evenings; and, legislators will buckle down as they aspire to meet their self-imposed deadline of April 12.
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MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
ANOTHER TERRIFIC LEARNING AND NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY!
2019 Leadership Conference hosted by the Big I Young Agents Committee - March 27-28 at the Red Apple Inn in Heber Springs
Featuring Ryan Hanley - International Keynote Speaker and Best-Selling Author
Sign up today
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SELF -DRIVING VEHICLES
HB 1561
by Rep. Austin McCollum and Sen. Mat Pitsch would authorize a firm or individual to operate up to three fully autonomous vehicles on streets and highways when participating in a pilot program approved by the State Highway Commission. It also seeks to provide that the autonomous vehicle pilot program will automatically be approved 60 days after it is submitted to the Highway Commission.
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BALLOT INITIATIVE REFORM
SB 346/HB 1489
and SJR 10/HJR 1008 by Sen. Mathew Pitsch and Rep. DeAnn Vaught is a package designed to reform the ballot initiative process. The bills are identical, as are the resolutions. .
SB 346 and HB 1489
seek to require the State Board of Election Commissioners, rather than the Attorney General, to determine whether a submitted ballot title and popular name are sufficient. These bills also amend the signature approval process by the Secretary of State. Finally, the bills clean up requirements on signature gatherers.
SJR 10 and HJR 1008
seek to a
mend the constitution to revise the process for ballot petitions. It repeals the 30-day signature cure period, moves the filing deadline for initiatives and signatures to January 15 and sets a deadline to file legal challenges on April 15, both dates in the General Election year. It also increases the vote majority required by the Legislature to make amendment referrals from a simple majority to a three-fifths (60%) majority and increases the number of counties from which a set number of signatures are required from 15 counties to three-fifths of the counties (45).
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NATIONAL ITEMS OF INTEREST
J.D. Power: Carriers Come Up Short for Independent Agents
BY KATIE BUTLER, IA EDITOR IN CHIEF
The more satisfied independent agents are with a carrier, the more business they will write with that carrier. But according to the J.D. Power 2019 U.S. Independent Insurance Agent Satisfaction StudySM, carriers are leaving a lot of money on the table.
The second annual study, which was developed in alliance with the Big "I," evaluated the property-casualty independent insurance agent's business outlook, management strategy and overall satisfaction with personal lines and commercial lines carriers in the U.S.
The study found a wide gap between agent expectations and what carriers deliver, with overall agent satisfaction ranking lowest among business relationships measured by J.D. Power.
J.D. Power measured key performance indicators (KPIs) that had the greatest impact on agent satisfaction with their carriers, including ease of doing business, communication, support, and policy and underwriting flexibility. Achieving KPIs dramatically affected a carrier's overall satisfaction score-a carrier that achieved all the top KPIs had an average score of 928, while those that missed five KPIs had an average score in the 600s.
"Some carriers are focusing on driving agent satisfaction, and we're seeing that translate to increased revenue and business for them," says Tom Super, director, Property & Casualty Insurance Practice at J.D. Power. "And there are others that have taken a little bit of a different tactic-'Let's focus on the end consumer, and by focusing on the end consumer, we'll make agents happy in that process.'"
Super notes a dose of both approaches is probably optimal. And while there isn't a silver bullet to driving agent satisfaction, Super says carriers need to "have deeper relationship with the independent agents that work to support their business, and then continuously find ways to drive improvement and enhance that relationship."
Not meeting agent expectations is costing carriers measurable dollars. J.D. Power estimates that if carriers could reduce the number of independent agents that give them a failing grade on more than five KPIs, they could increase revenue by 6%-or $1 million per 1,000 independent agents.
What can agents proactively do to foster a better carrier experience? Super says agents should continue to reward carriers that are delivering ease of doing business and other business needs. "It reinforces to the carriers, 'OK, these are the things we need to focus on," he says. "If agents place business with carriers that are getting it right, other carriers will look to replicate that type of model."
Auto-Owners Insurance ranked highest among personal lines carriers in the study for the second straight year, with an overall satisfaction score of 800. Progressive ranked second at 762, while Safeco and Travelers tied for third at 737.
Liberty Mutual performed highest among commercial lines carriers for the second straight year with an overall satisfaction score of 749, followed by Chubb and The Hartford, tied at 720.
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INSURING CANNABIS COMPANIES
A recent article in the Insurance Journal entitled, 'Insuring cannabis companies remains problematic' points out the challenges the P & C industry is having with the cannabis market which is expected to be a $20 billion industry by 2020. Cannabis is now legal for medical use in 32 states and for recreational use in 10 states. The fact cannabis is illegal under the Controlled Substances Act (as well as under Banking Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Law, and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) at the federal level there is a complex legal landscape for our industry to navigate.
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NEW HOUSE INTRODUCTIONS
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Authorizes a firm or individual to operate up to three fully autonomous vehicles on streets and highways when participating in a pilot program approved by the State Highway Commission. |
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Changes the threshold amount for a contractor's requirement to furnish a bond when entering a public capital improvement project, from a minimum $20,000 contract to the threshold amount for publication of notice to receive bids, currently $35,000.
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Appropriates supplemental funds to Henderson State University for capital improvements for fiscal 2018-2019.
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Regulates the operation of electric motorized scooters and the scooter-share operators that offer scooters for hire.
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Amends the constitution authorizing the General Assembly to enact laws limiting the amount of punitive damages that may be awarded in civil actions.
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NEW SENATE INTRODUCTIONS
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Repeals and replaces provisions that regulate the sale of travel insurance.
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Prohibits insurance policies covering treatment for metastatic cancer from limiting or excluding coverage for undergoing step therapy if it prescribed by a physician and is consistent with specific guidelines.
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A Constitutional Amendment to permit limits on awards of punitive and noneconomic damages in civil actions.
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Amends the constitution authorizing the General Assembly to enact laws limiting the amount of punitive damages that may be awarded in civil actions.
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Declares that a recent court case affirmed that Arkansas does not require a person to obtain a permit to carry a handgun, either unconcealed or concealed.
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| CONTACT INFORMATION State Senators: 501-682-2902 State Representatives: 501-682-6211 To view schedules, calendars, bill information and legislator information, visit: www.arkleg.state.ar.us. To view live stream video and audio from the Arkansas House of Representatives, visit www.arkansashouse.org. Independent Insurance Agents of Arkansas phone: (501) 221-2444 IIAA web site: www.iiaar.org
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| The Weekly Legislative Update is written by Lynn Zeno; edited and distributed by Kari McAfee. |
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As a reminder, the Legislative Update is sent to all IIA of Arkansas members via electronic communications unless you notify us otherwise at
kmcafee@iiaar.org or by telephone at 501-221-2444
The Legislative Update is a publication of the Independent Insurance Agents of Arkansas to members and associate members of this Association. Reproduction, by any means, of material appearing in the Legislative Update is strictly forbidden without permission.
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