Ernst Csiszar, NAIC president, during a discussion yesterday among commissioners, cited Congressional concern over the regulation issue as a reason for expediting NAIC adoption of the model developed by the Albany, N.Y.-based NCOIL.

Mr. Csiszar noted the interest of both Rep. Michael Oxley, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Rep. Richard Baker, R-La., also a committee member, and the likelihood of a March 31 hearing by the committee to vet the issue of federal regulatory options.

NAIC Secretary-Treasurer and Oregon Insurance Administrator Joel Ario said that the model is "a good, solid effort that very closely tracks our efforts."

But Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner Jorge Gomez suggested further discussion rather than a fast-track approach.

"What's the urgency?" Mr. Gomez asked. "We don't want to rush to judgment because Congress thinks we should do something before an election."

Mr. Ario, however, said that if action was pushed back to the summer meeting in June, then other debates regarding the model could be opened up and the model might not get adopted by the NAIC this year.

Two commissioners, Nebraska Director Tim Wagner and District of Columbia Insurance Commissioner Larry Mirel, emphasized the importance of a provision that provided a domestic deference approach in which states would defer to the market conduct findings of the state where an insurer is domiciled.

Domestic deference is the only way that regulators will have something to offer in response to a report last year by the General Accounting Office, which said regulators have not moved far or fast enough to take up market conduct, Mr. Wagner said. If that does not happen, he cautioned, regulators "could be sadly disappointed" in the future.

Mr. Ario responded that consensus could not be reached on the domestic deference issue. The property-casualty industry has maintained that it would not work for p-c insurers because p-c laws differ among states and because, in general, the resources of different states to oversee market conduct differed.

The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, Des Plaines, Ill., concurred and said that it would provide more talking points when the issue is taken up today by the NAIC's Consumer Affairs "D" committee. If the committee votes to advance support, a full vote could be taken by the NAIC's executive and plenary when it meets Sunday in New York City