(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Congressman Dennis Moore [D-KS] was joined Monday by his colleagues in the House of Representatives in approving the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act, bipartisan legislation Moore introduced to make federal financial regulations of the insurance industry less burdensome. The House unanimously approved the bill, H.R. 1065, by voice vote.

“Too many businesses are burdened by conflicting and inefficient state laws regarding non-admitted insurance and reinsurance,” Moore said. “Making the insurance market fairer and simpler benefits us all.”

Disparate and sometimes directly conflicting state laws in the surplus lines market create unnecessary inefficiencies and make it difficult, if not impossible in some cases, for producers and others to comply with their legal duties.

The Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act would significantly improve the regulation of two specific areas in the commercial insurance marketplace, namely surplus lines and reinsurance transactions. Specifically, the bill would prohibit the extraterritorial application of state laws and allow ceding insurers and reinsurers to resolve disputes pursuant to contractual arbitration clauses.

“With such broad, bipartisan support, I’m hopeful that this legislation, which is long overdue, will be approved by the Senate soon and signed into law,” Moore said. “It’s the right thing to do.”

During the 109th Congress, this legislation received strong support in the Financial Services Committee and was approved in the full House by a vote of 417-0.