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Last week was a big week in the legislature with the passing of three significant deadlines dealing with bill introductions: nonexempt committee bill introductions, member bill introductions and committee bill introductions all had to be completed on Friday. From this point on, only non-exempt committees (House & Senate Tax, House & Senate Federal and State Affairs, and Appropriations and Ways & Means) may introduce bills.
Governor Jeff Colyer presented his
State of the State
on Wednesday, February 7th to a joint meeting of the House and Senate. His focus: improving outcomes in education, keeping schools open and doing it all without raising taxes. The governor also mentioned healthcare and improving the health of Kansas residents, but there was no mention of Medicaid expansion. The governor additionally spent time discussing his plans to keep Kansas employment rates low through his "(Re)Employment Plan", which is directed toward assisting employment seekers with finding employment through additional job skills, focusing on the skills needed by employers.
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Hearing on Bill to Repeal Automatic Agent Licensure
The hearing on a bill amending the uniform insurance agents licensing act is now scheduled for Thursday, February 15 in House Insurance Committee. The bill,
HB2499
, repeals a paragraph in the act which states that: "certification of other than an individual insurance agent will automatically include each licensed insurance agent who is an officer, director, partner, employee or otherwise legally associated with the corporation, association, partnership or other legal entity appointed by the company."
As we understand, the bill sponsor's intent is to remove the requirement that every licensed agent in an agency be automatically required to certify and pay the annual certification fee. If this bill passed, only those directly selling for the company would be subject to the certification and fee.
The KAIA continues to closely monitor this bill. Particularly, we will be watching to see what the bill's fiscal impact might be on the Department's operations. If revenue from these registrations is lost, for example, will the Department look elsewhere in agent licensing to make up for the loss.
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Subcommittee on Bodily Injury to Submit Report
The subcommittee appointed by House Insurance Committee to study minimum motor vehicle liability limits and setoff is set to meet on tomorrow (Tuesday) and deliver its report to the full Insurance Committee on Thursday. The subcommittee is studying HB2104, which would prohibit an insurer from reducing the amount of underinsured motorist coverage available for a claim by any payment amount paid by anyone other than the insurer. Also, the bill would increase the minimum bodily injury limit on motorist insurance policies from $50,000 to $100,000.
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Captive Insurance Company Bill
On Wednesday, the Senate Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee will hear the Insurance Department's bill,
Senate Bill 410
, which will update Kansas statutes to allow for Kansas businesses to operate captive insurance companies. The KAIA has spent extensive time with the Department about this bill and have no concerns at this point. We will continue to closely monitor as the bill moves.
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Electronic Documents Bill
The Senate Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee held hearings on
SB348
, a bill dealing with the electronic delivery of health insurance documents. The proposal, brought by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City, would make electronic delivery the standard method of delivery for certain health benefit plan documents. The insured could request to receive paper documents instead of electronic delivery. Health Insurers, including BCBS of KS, Delta Dental of Kansas and the America's Health Insurance Plans, testified in support of the bill. The Kansas Department of Insurance expressed concern for older Kansans and suggested that an amendment be included that the electronic delivery of the affected documents remain as "opt in" for those over the age of sixty-five. The KAIA will continue to monitor this bill.
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Kansas Association of Insurance Agents
815 SW Topeka Blvd.
Topeka, KS 66612
800-229-7048
www.kaia.com
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