Committee OKs referral for bill letting MNIGA assume high-net-worth nonresponse after 60 days

State Rep. Dreier asked the House Commerce, Finance and Policy Committee on Feb. 20 to re-refer House File 1014 to the General Register after explaining that the measure would give the Minnesota Insurance Guarantee Association (MNIGA) added authority to determine when a policyholder should be treated as "high net worth."

The bill would change current practice for handling claims when a property-and-casualty insurance company is insolvent and a court orders liquidation. Under current law, policyholders with net worth above $25,000,000 are not eligible to make claims against the insolvent insurer. House File 1014 would allow MNIGA to assume a policyholder exceeds that threshold if the policyholder does not return a requested affidavit within 60 days.

"If the policyholder does not return the affidavit within 60 days, they're assumed to exceed the net worth threshold and are not eligible for claims," Dreier said. She told the committee MNIGA and Commerce support the change.

Jeff Christiansen, executive director of the Minnesota Insurance Guarantee Association, told the panel the change responds to frequent nonresponse when MNIGA requests net-worth affidavits: "The process now when we are requesting net worth affidavits from various insureds is about 90% of the time we do not get any type of response from them whatsoever." Christiansen said MNIGA currently must follow up, perform internet research or otherwise keep claims open while trying to determine net worth, and that the bill's 60-day consequence will let MNIGA prioritize payment for smaller policyholders it was created to protect.

Representative Davids asked when the last insurance insolvency occurred; Christiansen replied that recent insolvencies were in 2022 and 2023. Committee members discussed the bill briefly but heard no public testimony. Rep. Dreier renewed her motion to re-refer House File 1014 to the General Register; the chair called for a voice vote and the motion prevailed.

Why it matters: MNIGA exists to protect claimants whose insurer has failed; the bill aims to reduce administrative delay and the risk that smaller claimants are disadvantaged by prolonged claims processing when higher-net-worth policyholders do not respond to information requests. The policy change is procedural — it does not itself alter the $25 million threshold — but shifts how nonresponse is treated.

The committee did not record roll-call vote counts on the record; the motion passed on a voice vote. The bill now moves to the General Register for further consideration.