NAIC unveils 2013 budget with total revenues of $80.8 million
Notably, the NAIC will be making publications of the model laws, regulations and guidelines promulgated by its members available to the public free of charge.
The change is projected to reduce the fees the NAIC would otherwise collect to read its model law by just over $200,000.
Lehmann expressed hope that the move could signal a shift toward greater openness and transparency by the state regulators group.
Many associations and organizations have been critical in the past of the NAIC database and publication fees, all sold from collected proprietary information. Comments from groups are expected in the next couple of weeks. A public hearing is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 20, 2012.
However, Lehmann noted that, “This is an important step, even if largely a symbolic one.”
“There is no justification for a private organization to profit from a monopoly on public data, nor for any regulator to withhold from the public crucial financial data about the companies they regulate,” Lehmann stated. “Just as the SEC makes filings by publicly traded firms available to the public through its EDGAR service and the Federal Reserve makes the financial reports of depository institutions available through the National Information Center, we hope someday soon the NAIC will do the right thing by consumers, taxpayers and the general public and make all of its insurance statutory reports available free of charge.”
