IOWA SENATE OKs NCOIL MODEL:
Following a week of intense negotiations, the Iowa Senate approved a bill to restrict credit-based insurance scoring by a vote of 49 to 0. A coalition of industry advocates amended the bill to more closely follow the National Conference of Insurance Legislators’ (NCOIL) model. Several previous amendments offered by the independent agents, including language to remove the word “solely” from sections related to adverse actions, were not included in the bill. The independent agents agreed to support the NCOIL-based bill if a provision relating to “no hits” was not included. The agents argued that the NCOIL model language negatively impacts financially responsible individuals, such as senior citizens, who routinely use cash to make purchases and therefore may not have credit histories. Industry advocates and the agents will attempt to resolve their differences when the bill is debated in the House.