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Kansas Department of Insurance introduces seven RS bills to committee, covering fees, producer statutes, title insurance and third-party administrators
Summary
The Kansas Department of Insurance presented seven bill introductions to the Senate Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee, listing RS numbers and brief subject summaries; the committee raised no objections and the chair said the bills will be read into the Senate.
Eric Turek, director of government affairs for the Kansas Department of Insurance, presented seven RS bills to the Senate Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance on Jan. 14 and asked that they be introduced. The committee had no objections and Chair Senator Brenda Dietrich said the bills would be read into the Senate.
Turek summarized the seven items as follows (RS number followed by the subject he described):
- RS 0412: Gives the commissioner discretion to lower fees and eliminates the insurance agent appointment renewal fee.
- RS 0337: Reduces time frames for insurers and agents to respond to the Department of Insurance regarding consumer complaints.
- RS 0417: Reduces the number of appointed members on regulatory boards under the commissioners jurisdiction.
- RS 0340: Revises the definition of "person" in the departments enforcement statute and repeals certain reports submitted to the governor (described in testimony as repeals; details not specified).
- RS 0342: Brings parity between producer and public adjuster statutes.
- RS 0411: Concerns title insurance and title insurance agents, including annual audits, making reports available upon request and requiring a uniform surety bond for those agents across the state.
- RS 0407: Concerns third-party administrators, requiring separate fiduciary accounts for each payer and notification to the department in cases of bankruptcy filings.
Why it matters: Each RS would change regulatory or compliance obligations for insurers, agents, adjusters, title insurers, or administrators if enacted. The department identified subjects and RS numbers in committee; text and final legislative language were not provided during the introduction.
Committee response and next steps: Senator Dietrich asked whether there were objections to introduction; none were raised. Dietrich said the departments bills would be filed with the Senate and read into the record. No formal committee vote was recorded during the introductions.
Ending: Turek and the Department of Insurance will file the RSs formally; senators indicated they would review the proposed measures when text is available.
