Orlando, Fla.–Concerns are being voiced about the possibility the National Association of Insurance Commissioners could set up an uninsured motorist database that insurance trade groups say has been pushed by a well-connected vendor.
They voiced their worries as the NAIC approved setting up a working group to study a uniform national approach to the problem of identifying uninsured motorists.
David Snyder, assistant general counsel of the American Insurance Association, said that the White Paper approved at the meeting of the Property Casualty Committee on Saturday represented a “reasonably balanced approach where they talked about a potential uniform national approach.”
“Unfortunately, the EX Committee on a completely separate track has already indicated not whether to establish an NAIC national database, but how to do it,” he said. “And that is fundamentally inconsistent with the White Paper that was approved.”
Such an NAIC database would be one of the largest ones in the country, with tens of millions of drivers including names, addresses and what kind of vehicles they operate. “There is simply no need for the NAIC to do it.”
The fact that this approach was advocated by a particular vendor represented by former Missouri Commissioner Scott Lakin in closed-door sessions has concerned Mr. Snyder and other industry representatives, he said.
More than half the states have systems in place combining motor vehicle department and insurance company records to weed out uninsured motorists. “But most of them don't work very well,” Mr. Snyder noted.
The insurance industry is pilot-testing a new approach with several states, which shows promise, he said.
The proliferation of potential NAIC databases such as those proposed for fingerprinting agents has been a general industry worry for industry groups over the past several months. They have raised cost and confidentiality concerns.
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