Statement of Scope
Office of the Commissioner of Insurance
Rule No.: | Agency 145 – Ins 3.15 |
Relating to: | The inclusion of “veterans” as a category of “eligible risks” under Ins 3.15(4)(a) |
1. Finding/nature of emergency:
N/A
2. Detailed description of the objective of the proposed rule:
The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) finds it appropriate that “veterans” should be a recognized risk category eligible for blanket accident and health insurance. The proposed amendment to Ins 3.15 (4) (a) would accomplish this purpose by explicitly setting forth “veterans” as an eligible risk category. This would codify current practice, whereby OCI considers it appropriate to approve “veterans” as a risk category under Ins 3.15 (4) (b) (providing that “[a] company may submit any other risk or class of risks, subject to approval by the commissioner, which it believes is properly eligible for blanket accident and health insurance”).
3. Description of the existing policies relevant to the rule, new policies proposed to be included in the rule, and an analysis of policy alternatives:
As stated above, it is OCI’s current policy that it is appropriate to approve “veterans” upon a company’s submission of that proposed risk category, pursuant to Ins 3.15(4)(b). An alternative to amending 3.15 (4) (a) would therefore be to continue evaluating company submissions individually. It would promote simplicity and uniformity, however, to amend Ins 3.15 (4) (a) to add “veterans” as a recognized risk category.
4. Detailed explanation of statutory authority for the rule (including the statutory citation and language):
Section 600.03 (4), Wis. Stat., sets forth a definition permitting blanket accident and sickness policies. In addition, s. 631.20, Wis. Stat., requires these policies/risks to be approved by OCI. Pursuant to ss. 227.11 (2) (a) and 601.41 (3), Wis. Stat., the Commissioner has the authority to promulgate rules necessary to administer and enforce chs. 600 to 655, Wis. Stat., including authorized categories for blanket accident and sickness coverage. 5. Estimate of amount of time that state employees will spend developing the rule and of other resources necessary to develop the rule:
50 hours
6. List with description of all entities that may be affected by the proposed rule:
Insurers currently offering or seeking to offer blanket accident and sickness insurance to veterans as a group.
7. Summary and preliminary comparison with any existing or proposed federal regulation that is intended to address the activities to be regulated by the proposed rule:
There is no federal law or regulation intended to address this issue.
8. Anticipated economic impact of implementing the rule (note if the rule is likely to have a significant economic impact on small businesses):
This rule will simplify the administration of Ins 3.15 and, for that reason, may have minimal positive economic effects on impacted entities. OCI does not anticipate a significant economic impact on small businesses.
Contact Person:
Attorney Sharone Assa
(608) 264-8129
