Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Housing and Business and Economic Development, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 18 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request the Insurance Commissioner (Commissioner) to convene a working group to review the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) Property/Casualty Insurance Modernization Act.

The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), Hawaii Insurers Council, and State Farm Insurance Companies testified in support of this measure.

The NCOIL Property/Casualty Insurance Modernization Act is model legislation that establishes a "use and file" rate regulatory system for personal lines of insurance and a "no-file" system for commercial lines of insurance, and allows policies sold to large, sophisticated commercial insurance providers to be exempt from rate and regulatory requirements. The intent of the model legislation is to create a more competitive and less onerous regulatory system that protects policyholders and the public from the adverse effects of excessive, inadequate, or unfairly discriminatory rates.

This measure requests the Commissioner to convene a working group to review the model legislation and to submit a report on the group's review to the Legislature. Your Committees find that this measure supports a balanced study of rate filing and review systems that may be appropriate for Hawaii's insurance market.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Housing and Business and Economic Development that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 18 and recommend its adoption.