National Insurance Consumer Protection Act on the way?

WASHINGTON - MARCH 18: House Financial Servic...Image by Getty Images via Daylife

In their dizzying rush to enact more federal legislation in the wake of the financial meltdown, congress has recently introduced a new bill, The National Insurance Consumer Protection Act (NICPA). Congresspersons Melissa Bean of Illinois and Ed Royce of California stated in their introduction of the legislation, "The meltdown of insurance giant AIG and the broad crisis in the nation's financial system serve as proof of the vital need for regulatory reform of the insurance sector. Numerous bipartisan reports on the nation's capital markets have noted that insurance remains the only major segment of the capital markets not subject to federal regulation and reform is needed." While there are pros and cons on both sides of the argument regarding this legislation it just seems that Congress needs to keep their eye on the ball right now. Did the insurance market put us in the mess we're in right now? Although AIG was a major factor, it's only fair to point out that it wasn't their insurance arm that was the root of the problem. It's also fair to ask the question, do we need more federal regulation? Although they could probably work together more cohesively, can't each state be responsible for insurance regulation in their own backyard?
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