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The Mccarran-Ferguson Act and Antitrust Immunity: Good for Consumers?

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The Mccarran-Ferguson Act and Antitrust Immunity: Good for Consumers? S. HRG. 110–25 THE MCCARRAN-FERGUSON ACT AND ANTITRUST IMMUNITY: GOOD FOR CONSUMERS? HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION MARCH 7, 2007 Serial No. J–110–16 Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary ( U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 35–166 PDF WASHINGTON : 2007 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate 0ct 09 2002 08:59 May 14, 2007 Jkt 035166 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 S:\GPO\HEARINGS\35166.TXT SJUD1 PsN: CMORC COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont, Chairman EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., Delaware ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah HERB KOHL, Wisconsin CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California JON KYL, Arizona RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois JOHN CORNYN, Texas BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island TOM COBURN, Oklahoma BRUCE A. COHEN, Chief Counsel and Staff Director MICHAEL O’NEILL, Republican Chief Counsel and Staff Director (II) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 08:59 May 14, 2007 Jkt 035166 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\GPO\HEARINGS\35166.TXT SJUD1 PsN: CMORC C O N T E N T S STATEMENTS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS Page Leahy, Patrick J., Leahy, a U.S.Senator from the State of Vermont .................. 1 Kennedy, Hon. Edward, a U.S. Senator from the State of Massachusetts, prepared statement .............................................................................................. 85 Specter, Hon. Arlen, a U.S. Senator from the the State of Pennsylvania .......... 3 Whitehouse, Sheldon, a U.S. Senator from the State of Rhode Island, pre- pared statement ................................................................................................... 140 WITNESSES Homan, Michael M., Homeowner, New Orleans, Lousisiana ............................... 9 Hunter, J. Robert, Director of Insurance, Consumer Federation of America, Washington, D.C. ................................................................................................. 11 Landrieu, Hon. Mary L., a U.S. Senator from the State of Louisiana ................ 6 Lott, Hon. Trent, a U.S. Senator from the State of Mississippi .......................... 4 Racicot, Marc, former Governor of Montana and President, American Insur- ance Association, Washington, D.C. ................................................................... 12 Voss, Susan E., Iowa Insurance Commissioner, and Vice Chair, Financial Conditions Committee, National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Washington, D.C. ................................................................................................. 13 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Responses of J. Robert Hunter to questions submitted by Senator Specter ....... 19 Responses of Marc Racicot to questions submitted by Senators Leahy, Spec- ter, and Landrieu ................................................................................................. 22 Responses of Susan Voss to questions submitted by Senators Leahy, Specter, Grassley, and Landrieu ....................................................................................... 29 SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), Gary E. Hughes, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, and David Leifer, Senior Counsel, Wash- ington, D.C., letter ............................................................................................... 43 Homan, Michael M., Homeowner, New Orleans, Louisiana, statement ............. 46 Hunter, J. Robert, Director of Insurance, Consumer Federation of America, Washington, D.C., statement and attachments ................................................. 52 Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, Inc., Alexandria, Vir- ginia, statement ................................................................................................... 80 Landrieu, Hon. Mary L., a U.S. Senator from the State of Louisiana, state- ment ...................................................................................................................... 88 Lott, Hon. Trent, a U.S. Senator from te Statement of Mississippi, statement . 93 National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC), Washington, D.C., statement .................................................................................................... 96 National Association of Professional Insurance Agents, Alexandria, Virginia, statement .............................................................................................................. 101 National Council on Compensation Insurance, Inc. (NCCI), Mary Jane Cleary, Washington Affairs Executive and Counsel, Washington, D.C., letter and attachments .......................................................................................................... 102 Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, Washington, D.C., state- ment ...................................................................................................................... 111 Racicot, Marc, former Governor of Montana and President, American Insur- ance Association, Washington, D.C., statement ................................................ 117 (III) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 08:59 May 14, 2007 Jkt 035166 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\GPO\HEARINGS\35166.TXT SJUD1 PsN: CMORC IV Page Voss, Susan E., Iowa Insurance Commissioner, and Vice Chair, Financial Conditions Committee, National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Washington, D.C., statement .............................................................................. 127 VerDate 0ct 09 2002 08:59 May 14, 2007 Jkt 035166 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\GPO\HEARINGS\35166.TXT SJUD1 PsN: CMORC THE MCCARRAN-FERGUSON ACT AND ANTI- TRUST IMMUNITY: GOOD FOR CONSUMERS? WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 2007 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, Washington, DC. The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:35 a.m., in room SD–226, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Patrick J. Leahy, Chairman of the Committee, presiding. Present: Senators Leahy, Specter, Hatch, and Grassley. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. PATRICK J. LEAHY, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF VERMONT Chairman LEAHY. Good morning. When Hurricane Katrina rav- aged the Gulf Coast in 2005, it caused unimaginable devastation to the region’s residents. My friend from Mississippi and my friend from Louisiana, Senator Lott and Senator Landrieu, have expended every effort to provide help to those who have suffered. They re- mind us in caucus, on the floor, in the hallways, in the dining rooms of the Senate, and in our offices that the victims are not con- fined to any one demographic group. The devastation did not care whether you were old or young, man or woman, white or black, or whether you had a political affiliation with either the Republican or Democratic parties. So today we focus on a subject that has concerned me for some time, a topic that in the wake of the behavior of certain insurance companies in the Gulf Coast has been thrust into the forefront. Our topic is the Federal antitrust immunity of the insurance industry contained in Federal law and whether we should end that so that the insurance industry will operate by the same good competition laws that apply to most other industries. I have never quite under- stood in today’s day and age why they should have this special privilege that other companies do not have. Our Nation’s competition laws can be powerful tools to ensure that consumer welfare is the benchmark for fair and accountable industry practices. Consumers benefit through lower prices, more choices, and better services. Those benefits come from competition. The antitrust immunity for the insurance industry, contained in the 1945 McCarran-Ferguson Act—I was 5 years old. It is about time we relook at that—raises serious concerns with me. Insurance industry practices affect all of us. If the antitrust immunity is used in a way that distorts the market, that leads to higher prices and poorer service, consumers throughout the country can be harmed. (1) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 08:59 May 14, 2007 Jkt 035166 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\GPO\HEARINGS\35166.TXT SJUD1 PsN: CMORC 2 The potential for insurance industry abuse became clear on the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Residents, who lost so much as a result of the 2005 hurricanes and then were let down by a woefully unprepared Government, were then left to face insur- ance companies refusing to fulfill their commitments and help re- build. No one should have to go through what these Americans have been through. Senator Lott and Senator Landrieu can relate as well as anyone to the difficulty their constituents have had with insurers, insurers that have no problem collecting premiums when times are good, but cannot be found when tragedy strikes. Their States were hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina, and I commend both these Senators for their tireless efforts. Now that the Gulf Coast is rebuilding, two of the area’s biggest home insurers—Allstate and State Farm—are moving out and abandoning the area. A recent editorial in the Times Picayune im- plored the Louisiana Insurance Commissioner to make sure Allstate’s refusal to write new home insurance
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