Britt, Fitzgerald Named NAMIC Federal Legislators of the Year
DENVER (Sept. 24, 2024) – The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies today named Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., as the association’s Federal Legislators of the Year.
“These two lawmakers led efforts to prevent the Federal Insurance Office from duplicating work already being done at the state level and better focusing the office on its intended mission,” said Jimi Grande, senior vice president of federal and political affairs for NAMIC. “When federal agencies overstep their statutory authority, it’s important that Congress rein them in.”
Created under the Dodd-Frank Act as an information resource for federal policymakers, FIO sought to collect data directly from insurance companies as part of the administration’s overall efforts on climate change. Long a priority of the industry, much of this climate risk information has already been or is being collected by the states, which have regulatory authority over the insurance industry.
“FIO’s role is to help Congress better understand insurance and make use of the enormous amount of data that already exists,” Grande said. While FIO was given the authority to issue subpoenas under Dodd-Frank, Grande noted that power was specifically granted as a last resort. “Understanding climate change is an important policy goal, but it doesn’t expand FIO’s authority or allow the office to needlessly seek out data from companies and ignore years of work carried out by state regulators.”
Britt and Fitzgerald introduced the Insurance Data Protection Act, H.R. 5535/S. 3349, in their respective chambers to set clear limits on FIO’s authority and ensure the office collaborates with state insurance regulators when necessary and defers to their authority.
“Our state insurance regulators have decades of experience effectively assessing the market impacts of catastrophic weather events and protecting consumers, and efforts from Treasury or FIO to sidestep the state-based system undermines their authority,” Britt said. “I’m humbled to accept this award and for the support of NAMIC members who ensure that FIO works with, not around, state insurance officials.”
In 2023, Britt was sworn in as Alabama’s first elected female senator and the youngest Republican woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate. She serves on the Senate Banking Committee, Appropriations Committee, and the Committee on Rules and Administration.
“I am incredibly honored to be recognized by NAMIC as Federal Legislator of the Year,” Fitzgerald said. “Like NAMIC, I understand how important the state-based system of regulation is to promoting a healthy, robust, and competitive insurance market and economy overall. It’s my ongoing mission in Congress to maintain this system and stop blatant federal overreach through legislative efforts. I can’t thank NAMIC enough for serving as a unified voice for mutual insurers. The work of the organization has proved to be an invaluable resource as I advocate for solutions in Congress. I look forward to working closely with NAMIC in the years to come!”
Fitzgerald was elected to Congress in 2020 representing Wisconsin’s 5th District, which includes most of Milwaukee’s northern and western suburbs. Prior to coming to Congress, he served in the Wisconsin state Senate from 1995-2021. Fitzgerald is a member of the House Financial Services Committee and its Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance as well as the Judiciary Committee.
Each year, NAMIC honors federal lawmakers who have been leaders on the issues of great importance to the insurance industry with the Federal Legislator of the Year Award. The award bears the likeness of Ben Franklin, one of the nation’s founding fathers who in 1752 established a mutual insurance company that, as a NAMIC member, continues to serve policyholders to this day.
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NAMIC membership reflects many of the country’s largest national insurers as well as regional and local mutual insurance companies on main streets across America. NAMIC members write $391 billion in annual premiums and account for 68 percent of homeowners, 56 percent of the automobile, and 31 percent of the business insurance markets.
Article Posted: 09.24.24
Last Updated: 09.18.24
