ORLANDO, Fla.-State insurance regulators tackled a variety of issues at the National Assn. of Insurance Commissioners' spring meeting.

In addition to discussing commercial deregulation of insurance (BI, March 24) and regulation of risk-bearing health care providers, regulators:

Hosted the first meeting of a new NAIC/Industry Liaison Committee, designed to increase direct communication between regulators and the insurance industry.

The NAIC's representatives on the committee are its three officers, four zone chairmen and one at-large member.

Serving as the insurance industry's representatives are a rotating group of senior insurance company officials who belong to key industry trade associations. At any one time, there are two officials representing each of the following: health insurers, life insurers, property/casualty insurers and insurance producers.

Postponed for six months the required date for accredited states to adopt a required practice.

States now have until Jan. 1, 1998, to report market-conduct data to NAIC databases.

Heard that the NAIC's Internet Producer Database is well under way after being launched last month. The database is a central repository of producer licensing information updated daily by participating state insurance departments.

Currently, 9% of the producer population is represented on the database, with regulators in Iowa, Washington and Wisconsin now sending daily updates. The data-base is expected to represent 21% of producers with the addition soon of Florida and Michigan.

By year's end, an estimated 84% of the producer population should be represented as more states join the project, according to comments at a meeting of the Insurance Regulatory Information Network. IRIN is a public-private partnership affiliated with the NAIC.

Learned that state insurance regulators' most pressing concern about the sale of insurance via the Internet is that unlicensed or unauthorized companies or producers would attempt to sell coverage, according to a new NAIC survey presented to the Internet Marketing Issues Working Group.

The group also outlined the contents of a white paper scheduled to be completed by the September national meeting. Topics will include privacy and confidentiality; agent, broker and company licensing, regulatory enforcement; fraud; technology issues such as electronic signatures; electronic funds transfers; and electronic applications.

Decided to continue drafting a "prudent person" model investment law as an alternative to its current approach, which sets limits by category on the types of investments insurers can make.

Granted Iowa its second, five-year accreditation.