Florida’s Insurance Commissioner Promises to Protect Agents’ Interests

A press release issued by the Office of Insurance Regulation, Florida, has put to rest the fears of more than 101,500 licensed health insurance agents in the state.

With the Affordability Act coming into force, it was anticipated that insurance agents will be out if job as the focus of the reforms is to ensure that more funding goes to actual healthcare rather than insurance underwriting, administration or big salaries.

However all those scepticism is a thing of past now. Kevin McCarty, Florida Insurance Commissioner has announced that the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has passed a resolution demonstrating NAIC’s commitment to preserve the role and interests of insurance agents. The resolution was co sponsored by McCarty.

"With the passage of federal healthcare reform, the healthcare insurance system has become even more complex. Although it is not considered a 'medical expense,' trained healthcare agents must remain an integral part of the health insurance process by helping businesses and families tailor healthcare insurance plans to meet their individual needs."

In its summer conference in Seattle this week, NAIC decided not to allow agents’ commission to be counted as ‘medical care’ under the guidelines being drafted to implement the federal health reform law.

It has however called on federal policy makers to protect the indispensable role that licensed insurance professionals play in serving consumers.

At present insurance agents get 20% of the customers’ first-year premiums and 5 % a year after that. Almost 90% of the money comes from the individual market.

Though Florida’s Insurance Commissioner is keen on protecting the profession and money of the agents, the loopholes in the laws might create a problem. Florida law is still unclear about whether agents could charge consumers an additional fee, over and above their health insurance premium.