September 12, 2017
VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
Honorable Al Redmer, Jr.
Chair, NAIC Travel Insurance (C) Working Group
Commissioner, Maryland Insurance Administration
200 St. Paul Place, Suite 2700
Baltimore, MD 21202
Dear Commissioner Redmer and Members of the NAIC Travel Insurance (C) Working Group:
The Tourism & Travel Industry Consumer Coalition (“TTICC”) appreciates the opportunity to provide further comments to the Working Group regarding your ongoing work to develop a model law for travel insurance and travel protection products which include other non-insurance services and provisions. TTICC would like to take this opportunity to supplement our previous comments by offering comments and proposed language regarding provisions of the Model that have the potential to have a significant impact on the travel insurance industry. TTICC’s comments are attached to this letter in a section-by-section breakdown of the sections of the Model that TTICC would like to address.
We appreciate your consideration in this matter and respectfully request that the Working Group consider the attached materials as it continues to advance its efforts to provide uniformity and clarity to the consumers and industry participants alike. Additionally, we would welcome the opportunity to further discuss these issues if you believe it would be helpful to the Working Group’s efforts to do so. If you have any questions or would like any additional information about any of these issues, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
/ss/
TTICC
cc: Denise Matthews, Director of Information Systems, NAIC (via e-mail w/attachments)
Attachments
Contact or 859.244.7531
Model Section/Topic / TTICC Comments / TTICC Proposed Revisions
Section 3 – Definitions - Definition of Travel Insurance / Because the current definition of Travel Insurance excludes “major medical plans, which provide comprehensive medical protection for travelers with trips lasting six (6) months or longer,” TTICC would like to clarify that such policies are not prohibited, but rather are outside the scope of this Model, and may instead be regulated by other applicable sections of the adopting state’s insurance code. / TTICC proposes adding the following drafting note following the definition of Travel Insurance in the Model.
Drafting Note: Policies with travel components that do provide major medical coverage and have a duration of six months or longer are not prohibited by this definition, but are outside the scope of this Model and may be regulated under other applicable provisions of the state’s insurance code, rather than under this Model. If an adopting state believes that additional clarity is necessary, the state may choose to insert the following: [For policies that provide comprehensive health coverage and are six months or longer in duration, see section XXX of the state insurance code].
Section 4 – Licensing and Registration / TTICC would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that the current licensing framework contained in the Model is contained in NAIC ULS #34 and the 2012 version of the NCOIL Travel Insurance Model. This framework has been adopted in over 40 states. The Working Group should preserve the licensing framework currently in force in the majority of the United States. As such, TTICC respectfully submits that the Working Group should maintain this framework and not modify the licensing and registration provisions of the Model.
Potential Additional Section - Jurisdiction / Travel Insurance, by its nature, touches multiple jurisdictions. This has led to some uncertainty regarding assertion of authority over a particular aspect of travel and related or ancillary issues. TTICC would encourage the Working Group to carefully consider the nature of Travel Insurance when discussing applicable jurisdiction. Inland marine by its very definition was intended to recognize something in transit and tourists (see Nationwide Inland Marine Definition and P&C Product Coding Matrix TOI 9.0009). The same is true for other such products (see also Life, A&H, etc. Product Coding Matrix TOI H19I and H19G). Not to mention corollary provisions that provide a regulatory framework around travel purveyors such as state (e.g. Florida Dept. of Ag), federal (e.g. FAA, FMC), and foreign authorities.
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Contact or 859.244.7531