As Hurricane Irene's fury approaches, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners announced Thursday it has decided to cancel its Summer National Meeting in Philadelphia next week.
Classified as a Category 3, reports indicate the hurricane could swell to a Category 4 (on a five-category scale of strength), with winds up to 155 mph.
"In evaluating the potential threat of Hurricane Irene, our decision to cancel the meeting was informed by considering the safety of all attendees and members," said Susan E. Voss, NAIC President and Iowa Insurance Commissioner. "The first priority for all state regulators is responding to disasters and we are fully committed to assisting the states affected by this disaster."
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More than 1,500 insurance regulators, industry representatives and interested parties had registered to attend the conference, according to NAIC. All of the association's committees and task forces were supposed to review input on various topics and proposals before reconvening at the Fall National Meeting, which will be held November 3-6 in Washington, D.C.
Among other contentious issues up for debate at the summer meeting was the medical loss ratio impact on producers. Though the NAIC tabled a decision in July on whether to endorse a congressional bill that could exclude agent and broker compensation from medical loss ratio calculations, supporters of the move (like Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty) have made it clear the topic isn't dead, and will continue to be evaluated.
An association task force has been charged with examining the hotly debated issue. Based on an agenda for the NAIC summer meeting, the Professional Health Insurance Advisors Task Force "will continue to receive input toward developing a consensus solution that balances the needs of consumers while ensuring fair compensation for insurance producers for health insurance products subject to the PPACA medical loss ratio (MLR) requirements."
Information about committee work will be updated on the NAIC website at www.naic.org.
"Many of our members and attendees had already decided to cancel travel plans due to their responsibilities for assisting consumers in disaster situations, as well as weather-related travel safety concerns," said Therese M. (Terri) Vaughan, NAIC Chief Executive Officer. "As the storm subsides, we will re-evaluate the priorities and establish next steps for conducting business."
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