Panel considers extending value‑added pilot programs and shortening insurer response time to complaints to 14 calendar days

House Bill 2043 was heard by the House Insurance Committee. The bill has two principal elements: (1) it would allow insurers and producers to extend pilot or testing programs for “value‑added” products or services beyond the current one‑year limit when additional time is needed to determine whether the product meets statutory criteria; and (2) it would require insurers to respond to Department of Insurance inquiries about consumer complaints within 14 calendar days and permit the commissioner to use failure to respond as a grounds for license discipline.

Why it matters: The value‑added provision affects how insurers can test new wellness, education or loss‑mitigation services bundled with policies; the response‑time provision shortens the deadline the department uses to obtain information when handling policyholder complaints.

Eric Turek, appearing for the department, said the department received about “3,600 complaints from the public” in 2024 and that many responses from companies are straightforward and often come sooner than the current standard. Turek described current law as using a 15‑business‑day response timeframe and said modern communications and a planned NAIC portal justify a shorter calendar‑day deadline.

On pilots, the department explained that value‑added services must relate to coverage and fit statutory categories such as loss mitigation or health enhancement; when evidence is not immediately available, insurers may use a pilot. Turek summarized the department’s intent: “sometimes insurance companies need more than a year's, length of time. So that's as simple as I can put that.”

Representative questions and committee discussion focused on enforcement consequences if companies fail to meet the 14‑day requirement and on who determines whether pilot evidence is sufficient. The department said enforcement tools include fines, hearings, license suspension or revocation and that the department’s rate‑ and compliance unit would assess whether sufficient evidence supports the pilot’s outcomes.

Neutral written testimony from the Kansas Association of Property and Casualty Insurance Companies was noted; no opponents spoke in person at the hearing. The committee closed the hearing on HB 2043 with proponent testimony from the department and no formal committee vote recorded.

Ending: The bill will return to committee for drafting and possible amendment; the department said it will provide technical detail on the planned NAIC portal and the enforcement language.