WASHINGTON The National Association of Insurance Commissioners model consumer privacy notices are not going over well at the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, which calls them a solution in search of a problem.
The commissioners group is developing the models because consumers complained that the notices financial firms mailed out this summer were unclear. It wants to guarantee that privacy notices are understandable, while ensuring operational uniformity which will eliminate needless duplication, New York State Insurance Superintendent Gregory V. Serio, who heads the NAICs privacy group, said in a prepared statement this month.
In a letter last week to Mr. Serio, Peter Bisbecos, the legislative and regulatory counsel at the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, said: There is a grave concern that industry will be forced to undo its accomplishments. This damages the credibility of the law and will lead to increased costs, which will be passed on to consumers.
The model notices are expected to be unveiled after the NAICs Sept. 22-25 meeting in Boston. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act gave financial companies, including insurers, until July 1 to notify customers about corporate information-sharing policies and to allow them to block a company from sharing the data with others.
