STAND. COM. REP. NO.  988-10

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2010

 

RE:   S.B. No. 2697

      S.D. 1

      H.D. 1

 

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committees on Consumer Protection & Commerce and Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 2697, S.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this bill is to modernize the Insurance Code to make its provisions uniform with the best practices in insurance regulation.

 

     The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and Hawaii Insurers Council testified in support of this bill with amendments.  The Hawaii Association of Health Plans, USAA, Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, Hawaii Medical Service Association, and American Council of Life Insurers provided comments.

 

     Your Committees find that this bill promotes efforts to achieve national uniformity of insurance laws, streamline operations, improve administrative efficiency, and reduce the cost of insurance regulation.

 

     Your Committees have amended this bill by:

 

(1)    Including sales or marketing practices among the subjects of written inquiries made by the Insurance Commissioner for which an insurer or insurance licensee must issue a written response within 15 working days;

 

(2)    Eliminating the following provisions that are contained in other bills that have been enacted into law this session:

 

(A)    Allowing crop insurance adjusters to fulfill their licensing examination requirement by passing an examination approved by the Risk Management Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture.  This provision is included in S.B. No. 2017, enacted as Act 6, Session Laws of Hawaii (SLH) 2010; and

 

(B)    Eliminating reference to a repealed provision on minimum surplus requirements for captive insurance companies.  This amendment is included in S.B. No. 2812, S.D. 1, enacted as Act 7, SLH 2010;

 

and

 

(3)    Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity and style.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Consumer Protection & Commerce and Judiciary that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2697, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2697, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Consumer Protection & Commerce and Judiciary,

 

 

____________________________

JON RIKI KARAMATSU, Chair

 

____________________________

ROBERT N. HERKES, Chair