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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
12/16/2021
FOR INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Craig Ey, 410-468-2488 (O)
443-604-9599 (C)

Maryland Insurance Commissioner Birrane Elected as Chair of Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission

BALTIMORE – The 47 members of the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission (IIPRC) have elected Maryland Insurance Commissioner Kathleen A. Birrane as IIPRC Chair for 2022.

The IIPRC​ is a multi-state public entity launched in 2006 to carry out the directives of the Interstate Insurance Compact, a legislatively enacted agreement among member states to create a single point of form and rate filing and review for certain life insurance and annuity products which, if approved by the IIPRC, may be sold in all member states without the need for filing in those states. The Compact was enacted to address the need for uniformity, speed-to-market and regulatory consistency and to modernize the regulatory approval of asset-based insurance products. Representatives from the member states participate in the development of uniform product standards that insurers must meet when seeking approval of rates and forms from the IIPRC. States that join the Compact have the right to opt out of any specific product standard to prevent the sale of that product in their market without approval at the state level.

Currently, the Commission has 47 member states and territories, which collectively represent 75% of the premium volume nationwide. The Compact Statute authorizes the Commission to develop Uniform Standards and accept, review, and approve product filings for life insurance, annuities, disability income, and long-term care insurance individual and group products.

Maryland joined the Compact in 2005 and has been an active participant on the Commission since its inception. Commissioner Birrane is the first Maryland Insurance Commissioner to Chair the Compact.

"I am delighted to serve as Chair of the Commission for the upcoming year," Commissioner Birrane said. "I look forward to engaging with my fellow members, state legislators, and interested parties to promote the long-term sustainability of the organization and reaffirm the Insurance Compact’s long-held motto: States, Strength, & Speed Aligned."

Insurers can utilize the Commission to achieve efficiencies and speed-to-market throughout the product development and implementation of a multi-state insurance product. State insurance regulators retain sovereign authority over their insurance marketplace and actively participate in ensuring uniform standards that provide insurance consumers with strong and established protections. The Commission has adopted more than 100 uniform standards.

Commissioner Birrane, who served as the Commissioner’s Audit Chair in 2020, was elected Chair at the Compact’s Annual Meeting in San Diego on December 12. Nebraska Department of Insurance Director Eric Dunning was elected Vice Chair, and West Virginia Insurance Commissioner Allan L. McVey was elected Treasurer.​

About the Maryland Insurance Administration

The Maryland Insurance Administration is an independent State agency charged with regulating Maryland’s $41 billion insurance industry. For more information about the Insurance Administration, please visit www.insurance.maryland.gov or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MDInsuranceAdmin, Twitter at @MD_Insurance, LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/maryland-insurance-administration  or Instagram at @marylandinsuranceadmin​.

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