NAIC Releases Fiscal for SERFF Modernization Transition Work in 2022 for Public Comment
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) announced today it has released for a 10-day public comment period a proposed fiscal impact statement intended to provide funding to modernize the NAIC’s SERFF platform, a 22-year-old rate and form filing system last redesigned in 2006. The NAIC Executive (EX) Committee approved the release of the fiscal impact statement during a meeting held on January 14, 2022.
The modernization project will enable the NAIC to take advantage of numerous new developments in the areas of document management, document workflow, and text processing using artificial intelligence. This initiative, which began in 2020 with an extensive assessment of the current platform, will use an iterative approach to replace the current platform with tools and other technical innovations to improve operational efficiency and regulatory consistency, reduce product review complexity, and provide a greater range of features and functionality for all users.
The fiscal includes requests for professional services, staffing, and technology to begin the initial stages of a three-year transition to the new platform. The earliest transition stages will improve search and reporting capabilities in the current platform, while beginning the move of the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission (Insurance Compact) to the modernization platform. Improvements to the current platform will also be transferrable to the new system. Transaction fees assessed per filing will be adjusted starting in May 2022 to cover the costs of the platform modernization.
“SERFF has successfully facilitated the electronic submission and review of product filings for more than two decades,” said Dean L. Cameron, NAIC President and Idaho Director of Insurance. “Modernizing this system will bring additional automation and improve accuracy, which will ease some of the regulatory burden for product review, thereby allowing regulators to focus on what matters most.”
A complete copy of the fiscal can be found on the NAIC website or by clicking here. Written comments or questions should be addressed to the NAIC and forwarded to the attention of Jim Woody, jwoody@naic.org, no later than Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022.
About the National Association of Insurance Commissioners
As part of our state-based system of insurance regulation in the United States, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) provides expertise, data, and analysis for insurance commissioners to effectively regulate the industry and protect consumers. The U.S. standard-setting organization is governed by the chief insurance regulators from the 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories. Through the NAIC, state insurance regulators establish standards and best practices, conduct peer reviews, and coordinate regulatory oversight. NAIC staff supports these efforts and represents the collective views of state regulators domestically and internationally.