Last week, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners announced its agenda for 2025, including the call to eliminate the Federal Insurance Office. This comes on the heels of legislation, the Federal Insurance Office Elimination Act, introduced in January by Montana Congressman Troy Downing.

The purpose of H.R. 643 is to return regulatory authority over the insurance industry back to the states.

Previously, Downing served as Montana State Auditor, overseeing the Treasure State’s securities and insurance industries. He has been a staunch advocate in favor of abolishing the FIO.

“The law is clear. Regulation of the insurance industry rests with the states, not big government,” said Congressman Downing. “FIO is a duplicative federal bureaucracy whose existence hinders the efforts of state regulators better equipped to address the insurance needs of their communities. I was proud to call for FIO’s abolishment as Montana State Auditor, and I gladly do it now as a Congressman and member of the House Financial Services Committee.”

Most recently, a multi-state coalition of Insurance Commissioners urged the Department of Government Efficiency to eliminate the office.

The NAIC states that the “FIO stands in direct conflict with the states’ role as primary regulators, complicates the states’ engagement with fellow insurance regulators globally, duplicates confidential data collection from the insurance industry, and blurs the line that separates Treasury from independent financial regulators.”

In 1945, Congress passed the McCarran-Ferguson Act, solidifying states’ regulatory authority over the insurance industry, but in 2010, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act created the Federal Insurance Office as a subsidiary of the Treasury, charging FIO with “the authority to monitor all aspects of the insurance sector.”

The new law appeared to violate aspects of the McCarran-Ferguson Act.

H.R. 643 has received support from the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA), the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) and the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (Big “I”).

“The Federal Insurance Office Elimination Act will protect the successful state insurance regulatory system by repealing the Federal Insurance Office (FIO), an unnecessary federal bureaucracy created in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.” said PIA CEO Mike Skiados. “The proper place for the regulation of insurance is at the state level, which has served the insurance industry and consumers well for over a century and is better positioned to protect consumers in the future. PIA thanks Rep. Troy Downing for his leadership in protecting the state insurance regulatory system.”

“Since its inception, and especially recently, the Federal Insurance Office has pushed the bounds of its statutory mandate as an informational resource for federal policymakers,” said NAMIC SVP of Federal and Political Affairs Jimi Grande. “FIO has become a tool for political agendas, overreaching and creating confusion and burdensome costs for consumers, often just to duplicate the work of state insurance regulators. NAMIC thanks Congressman Downing for his prompt attention to this issue and is grateful to have a former state insurance regulator in Washington who truly understands insurance markets and how they operate.”

“Over the years, the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) has proven to have questionable value for insurance markets as well as consumers,” said Big “I” SVP of Federal Government Affairs Nathan Riedel. “As one of the leading supporters of a strong and modernized state-based system of insurance regulation, the Big ‘I’ supports eliminating the FIO.”

Original cosponsors of the Federal Insurance Office Elimination Act include: Rep. Ben Cline (VA-06), Rep. Mike Haridopolos (FL-08), Rep. Ralph Norman (SC-05), Rep. Andy Ogles (TN-05), Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11), Rep. Derek Schmidt (KS-02), Rep. Barry Moore (AL-01), Rep. Glenn Grothman (WI-06), and Rep. Mike Kennedy (UT-03).

The new bill has been referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

A similar bill was introduced by Senator Ted Cruz in 2023.

The Federal Insurance Office Abolishment Act of 2023 bill stalled after being sent to the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.