FCRA Reauthorization Begins in Earnest; Alliance Urges Congress to Continue Preemptions

As Congress continues the process of reauthorizing the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) – at a House subcommittee mark-up of HR 2622 July 16 – the Alliance of American Insurers urged Congress to continue the practice of allowing information-sharing between companies and their subsidiaries.

“The FCRA provides national standards for access to credit information and the sharing of information among affiliated companies,” said Kenneth Schloman, Alliance Washington counsel.

“If Congress fails to renew the federal pre‑emption provision, states would be free to enact any restrictions – creating a potential hodgepodge of laws and making it far more difficult for insurers to access credit information for now‑permissible underwriting purposes.

“The Alliance recognizes that credit information and models that produce credit-based insurance scores have proven to be statistically valid indicators of future insurance loss, and represent valid underwriting and/or rating factors for those companies choosing to use them. The FCRA guarantees that insurers have uniform access to information, allowing them to remain competitive and offer consumers the best products and rates possible.”