Feature Article

A 1,000-Foot View of Legislative Advocacy

By John Savant, IA&B Government Affairs Director By John Savant, IA&B Government Affairs Director

With a constant presence in the state capitols, IA&B works daily to monitor legislation and regulations that affect independent agents, and to advance laws and regulations that benefit independent insurance agencies. Here’s how we do it....

Direct Lobbying: Your Insurance Against Bad Legislation

Imagine if the laws regulating nuclear power plants were written without the input of nuclear engineers. To say the least, the results would be disastrous. The same can also be true of insurance-related bills that are written without the input of independent agents.

In Delaware, a first draft of a recently proposed employee misclassification bill redefined independent contractor in a way that would have completely upended the existing relationships between independent agents and insurance carriers, potentially jeopardizing their compensation programs. IA&B and other industry representatives promptly requested an amendment to preserve agencies’ status as independent contractors and the continued ability for carriers to compensate agents through commissions.

In Maryland, a proposal to ban the use of credit-based insurance scoring (CBIS) was dramatically reduced in scope after IA&B input, instead allowing individuals to apply for exceptions to existing CBIS rating rules based on certain life events, such as identity theft, or the death of a spouse, child, or parent. IA&B also convinced the Maryland Senate to remove a demographic reporting requirement that would have been impossible for agents and carriers to adhere to without violating other state and federal laws, but the legislative session ended before the bill saw a final vote of passage.

Laws are like sausages; it is better not to see them being made. For every law that makes it way to the Governor’s desk, there are typically several iterations of amendments and language that was scrapped due to the unintended effects they would have. Elected officials come from a wide variety of backgrounds; they can’t be expected to be an expert in every topic they vote on.

When IA&B staff meets with lawmakers, we bring the expertise and experience of our independent agents to the table, a resource that lawmakers typically find value in. We also talk with legislators about the issues independent agents are facing that they may be able to solve. In Pennsylvania, the Cannabis Banking & Insurance Act was passed earlier this year after IA&B staff discussed with lawmakers a legislative issue that made independent agents at risk of penalty for providing their services to legal cannabis-related businesses.

The conversations and meetings between IA&B staff and our elected officials don’t just benefit agents. Many lawmakers see IA&B and its members as a resource they can rely on – a way to understand the complicated world of insurance and be better leaders for their state.

Grassroots Outreach: Making the Voice of Independent Agents Heard

While direct lobbying is the first and most common way in which IA&B reaches out to lawmakers, the single most effective way to change a legislator’s position on an issue is for them to hear directly from a concerned constituent. And with over 1,150 member agencies across Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware, it would be difficult to find a legislator who doesn’t have an IA&B member living in their district.

The power of IA&B’s grassroots outreach was on full display earlier this year in Delaware’s legislative session when a bill was introduced that would ban the use of gender as a rating factor for auto insurance. Introduced at the request of the Delaware Insurance Commissioner, Senate Bill 231 was tied to a flawed report that the industry was charging female drivers more than their male counterparts. There was only one issue with the report: it used one or two outliers to generalize an entire market. Female drivers generally pay less for auto insurance than male drivers with otherwise similar risk profiles, because female drivers have fewer and less severe accidents.

IA&B staff testified at a Senate hearing on the bill in April, arguing that it would lead to increased auto insurance rates for women – particularly youthful drivers – but, in spite of swaying several votes, our efforts fell just short. SB 231 ended up passing in the Senate by an 11-10 vote. Direct lobbying can be an extremely effective tool for educating elected officials on an issue they may be less familiar with, but it becomes less effective when a legislator has already formed their own opinion. In the case of SB 231, most legislators were already aware of – and had read – the misleading report by the Department of Insurance.

It wasn’t until insurance agents directly contacted their Representatives that support for SB 231 fell apart. IA&B Government Affairs Committee members sent letters and met directly with dozens of House members, providing detailed examples of how SB 231 would affect their customers’ auto insurance premiums. Even many of the bill’s sponsors were swayed by the data that agents provided, and SB 231 lost the support to come up for a vote in the House.

The lesson from SB 231 is clear: Direct communication between agents and their elected officials is a powerful tool for defeating legislation that would harm independent agents and their customers.

AgentPAC: Putting Money Where Your Mouth Is

If direct lobbying and grassroots mobilization are the tools that IA&B uses to reach out to and speak to legislators, AgentPAC is our tool for ensuring that there are people in office on both sides of the aisle who are willing to hear what we have to say.

AgentPAC, IA&B’s political action committee, is a fund made up of voluntary contributions by IA&B members that helps people who are supportive of independent agents run for political office. Decisions to support candidates are made solely based on their policy positions on insurancerelated issues, as well as their voting record (if they are running for re-election).

Like it or not, elections are expensive. Yard signs, curated walking lists, and political mailers are a vital part of any serious electoral campaign, and they all cost money. AgentPAC helps cover the costs of running a successful campaign, enabling candidates to focus less time on fundraising and more time on connecting with voters.

Independent agents who run for office – like Pennsylvania State Senator Chris Gebhard, Pennsylvania State Representative Chris Quinn, and Maryland Delegate Courtney Watson – are an invaluable asset when it comes to educating their colleagues who do not have experience working in the insurance industry. Other AgentPACsupported candidates may not come directly from an insurance background, but they value the expertise that IA&B members bring to the table and ask for our input before voting on insurance-related bills.

With state elections rapidly approaching this November, AgentPAC and IA&B’s advocacy team are working to ensure the voice of independent agents is heard in our state capitols. The strength of IA&B’s advocacy efforts lies in our membership: the experience and knowledge that IA&B shares with legislators, our collective voice on the issues that matter most to agents, and our ability to pool our resources through AgentPAC to support those who support us.

You can help IA&B’s advocacy efforts by taking the following actions:

▲ Register to vote, and vote in every election. Get to know who your elected officials are, and make sure they know you.

▲ Keep an eye out for advocacy updates through IA&B’s weekly Agent Headlines email, and take action if IA&B is asking you to contact your legislators about a bill or an upcoming vote. Taking a few minutes to write an email to your representative can make all the difference.

▲ Contribute to AgentPAC to help elect candidates who support independent agents. You can contribute online at IABforME.com/political_advocacy.

▲ If you have an existing relationship with your elected official, are interested in government affairs, and/or would like to get involved, please let us know. Email JohnS@IABforME.com.

John Savant is IA&B’s Government Affairs Director. You can reach him at JohnS@IABforME.com or 800-998-9644, ext. 607.

Government Relations Committee

Thank you to the IA&B Government Relations Committees members – independent agents who volunteer their time to provide feedback on proposed legislation, meet with lawmakers, and occasionally testify on our behalf.

Pennsylvania Committee

Rob Walbeck, Chair | Dawn Cunningham | Shannon Lipniskis | Shayne McIntosh | Mark Monroe | Jeffrey Olsommer | Debie Remaley | Dean Wimmer | Marshall Wolff

Maryland Committee

Craig Mader, Chair | Bryan Hanes | Linda McCann | Stacey Nicholson | Kent Reynolds | Brad Rosenkilde | Larry Sanders | Kip White

Delaware Committee

Lee Dotson, Chair | Lisa Broadbent | Steve Burnett | Maria Metcalfe | Jason Rodriguez | Peter Wolff | John Yasik