The American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) laid out its legislative priorities on Capitol Hill this week on its Legislative Action Day.
On the Legislative Action Day, APCIA members had 70 meetings with members of the House Financial Services Committee, House Committee on Ways and Means, House Committee on Energy and Commerce, House Committee on the Judiciary, Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Senate Committee on Finance, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
“This week, APCIA members came together to advocate for property casualty insurance industry priorities, including solutions to address factors impacting the cost of living for individuals, households, and businesses, such as legal system abuse reforms and mitigation and resiliency measures,” Sam Whitfield, APCIA’s senior vice president of government relations, said. “Legal system abuse is a significant factor impacting the cost of living for everyone, including insurance costs. By its very nature, third party litigation funding contributes to the growth in lawsuits and increases litigation costs, both of which increase the cost of insurance over time for every American family, individual, and business who purchases it.”
Whitfield added that Rep. Darrell Issa’s (R-CA) Litigation Transparency Act is essential to address the negative impacts of litigation funded by third party investors. It requires the disclosure of third-party litigation financing to the parties and the courts in all federal actions.
He also cited Rep. Ben Cline’s (R-VA) Protecting the Courts from Foreign Manipulations bill as critical as it requires disclosure of foreign investment in TPFL. It also prohibits foreign governments from investing in TPLF.
APCIA encouraged support for both pieces of legislation this week.
“Mitigation and resiliency efforts are critical to foster more sustainable and resilient communities and could lead to more affordable and available insurance coverage, which could lower costs for consumers and households,” Whitfield said. “That is why we are encouraging support for several initiatives, including The Fix Our Forests Act, which includes important proactive measures to prevent devastating wildfires and to protect communities and the environment.”
Whitfield added that a long-term reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program is also critical to foster more sustainable and resilient communities, thus reducing losses and lowering costs.
“We as an industry stand ready to work with Congress and any other stakeholders to find a path forward that will put the NFIP on stable financial footing, address affordability for those in need, and increase consumer choice by expanding the private flood market and promote more sustainable and resilient communities; all while protecting American taxpayers,” he said.
The American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) is the primary national trade association for home, auto, and business insurers.