Officials at the summer meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners have apologized to a Kentucky lawmaker after briefly denying him entry to NAIC commissioners’ roundtable discussion on Sunday. The NAIC had denied access to Rep. Robert Damron (D-Nicholasville, Ky.). Damron, treasurer of the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL), said he was “highly offended” after his name was included on an e-mail sent to a guard at the meeting as someone who should not be admitted. He says seeing his name in the do-not-admit e-mail made the meeting access issue “very personal.” The incident occurred during the NAIC’s summer meetings in San Francisco.

After initially denying him entry, the NAIC’s chief legal officer and general counsel both apologized to Damron and told him that a mistake had been made. He was allowed to attend the roundtable, but only after he and NCOIL Vice President Brian Kennedy were asked to sign statements indicating that they were legislators and had no connections to the insurance industry. Damron says he is waiting to see how the NAIC addresses meeting access in the future before deciding whether to approach the Kentucky attorney general about the way the NAIC closes meetings.

Note: PIA attended the NAIC summer meetings. We’ll have additional reports soon.

Two Lawmakers Penetrate NAIC Locked-Door Session (National Underwriter 6/4/07) 

NAIC E-mail Angers Legislator (National Underwriter 6/4/07)

June 11, 2007