Capital Briefs: Agents to Sue U.S. in Crop Insurance Case

The Independent Insurance Agents of America said Friday it would sue the government to prevent national banks from selling crop insurance.

The insurance group said the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency exceeded its authority when it ruled banks are not restricted to selling crop insurance only in small-town agencies.

The suit is expected to be filed in the next two weeks, the group said.

"Congress has specifically stated, without exception, that all national bank insurance sales activities must originate in small towns," group president Bud Wilson said. "The OCC's ruling effectively guts this statutorily mandated requirement and grants national banks free reign to do as they please in the crop insurance market."

In a Dec. 29 letter to an Iowa Bankers Association subsidiary, the OCC exempted crop insurance from the small-town rule, arguing that it is a credit product rather than an insurance policy.

An OCC spokesman would not comment on the insurance agents' plans. But agency officials said they are "confident their position is correct."

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