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It is my honor to welcome you to the ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½ Spring National Meeting. On behalf of my fellow commissioners and the ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½ staff, thank you for joining us. We hope you have a wonderful experience at this meeting as you learn, participate, and network with the other attendees.

For those who are joining us for the first time, let us have a special welcoming round of applause! Each one of us has had a "first" national meeting. Some of us may have been around long enough that it's hard to remember our first meeting, but we all learned the ropes because someone took the time to welcome us and show us how things work. Don't hesitate to reach out and ask questions – we're all glad you're here.

And as we're welcoming newcomers to the ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½, we must say good-bye to others from time to time. With great sadness, we share the news of the passing of Colin Hayashida, former Hawaii Insurance Commissioner. He passed away on February 28, 2023, due to health issues. Colin's work for the Hawaii Insurance Division spanned over 20 years, including his service as commissioner from January 2019 to December 2022.  

He was an extraordinary person who made countless contributions to advance ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½ efforts, the insurance industry, and his community. Colin will be greatly missed, and our deepest sympathies are with Colin's family, friends, and colleagues at the Hawaii Insurance Division.

We also say good-bye, in another way, to ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½ CEO Mike Consedine who submitted his resignation and will be leaving us on April 30^th.

Mike has done a wonderful job in his leadership of the ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½, and we are grateful for his dedication to the success of this organization. He led us during the pandemic, through strategic planning, and some of our most challenging international issues.

I know his shoes will be hard to fill, but we wish him well as he looks at the next chapter in his career, and one that will allow him to spend more time with his lovely family. On behalf of all of the ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½ family, thank you Mike!

I've been a part of the ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½ and attending National meetings for many, many, MANY years. And I'm just as excited and passionate about the mission of the ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½ and the work of state regulators now as I was when I started in the early 1980’s.

Our state-based regulatory system is vital to keeping consumers safe and our industry thriving. I applaud the resiliency of the ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½ and the perseverance of our regulators. I appreciate the curiosity and actions of interested parties who want to know more and do more to improve access and protections for our consumers.

The amount of effort it takes to ensure the insurance market's solvency and stability and to educate the public about insurance products is significant.

Since the ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½ was founded in 1871, insurance company solvency and the protection of consumers have been the core of who we are and what we do. While we come from a variety of different political viewpoints, different geographical regions, experiences, and perspectives, we all have common goals.

And in a world filled with global uncertainty, challenges, and divisions, our commitment to support one another fuels our progress, growth, and effectiveness.

Our list of challenges is growing every day and, frankly, every minute. The insurance landscape is changing at an accelerated pace. This means that our work here is more important each time we meet, and our ability to focus and collaborate is critical.

As we look at the many goals we must address, it's good to know we have a guide to help us achieve those goals. Many of you may recall the ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½'s State Ahead strategic plan.

I am happy to announce the next phase of State Ahead, called State Connected.

State Connected is a 3-year plan that builds on that foundational blueprint for the ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½'s future. State Connected was finalized in the fall of 2022 and has six key strategic focus areas. These are:

• Member Connectivity

An example of Member Connectivity is the new ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½ Connect app that encourages more member access and interaction.

Next, we have…

• Training, Expertise, and Technology
• Data and Analytics
• Consumer Education, Outreach, and Advocacy

I believe this is one of our most important areas of responsibility.

Our consumers need our help to become better informed, educated and prepared to make better decisions.

And the final two focus areas are:

• Committee Governance and Management, as well as
• ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½ Operations

The vision that State Connected represents is a combined vision and would not have been possible without the engagement and support of all ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½ members and ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½ staff. The plan was formulated over a two-year period involving countless sessions and discussions. Now, it is finally time to implement, and we are excited! Consumers, market participants, and our fellow regulators are counting on us to continue building on that long legacy of excellence. For those of us now serving, we must carry this forward and demonstrate our commitment.

For more information, I invite you to reference our State Connected strategy on naic.org.

Last month, we announced the ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½'s 2023 Priorities, and you'll be able to see the State Connected strategic plan woven into most of what we do. Although the priorities are familiar, we all agree that the six areas identified for 2023 should receive our attention and focus.

It should come as no surprise that a top priority continues to be financial oversight and transparency.

And while this is always a priority for the ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½, it's even more important given the economic climate we're in right now.

We need to maintain our vigilance to ensure that companies are not only able to remain solvent and pay their claims when times are good, but they're also making sound investment choices and safeguarding their ability to remain solvent when we have economic challenges and a prolonged low interest rate environment. Stability is essential and remains a high priority.

Cybersecurity continues to be a big concern worldwide.

Data breaches have touched nearly every industry, and the demand for cyber insurance is growing.

Globally, this is further impacted by international issues such as the war in Ukraine, supply chain interruptions, and the volatility in banking and the insurance marketplace.

How companies are managing their third-party risks is now something that's on our radar. The fact that companies outsource certain functions and services does not absolve them of their responsibility.

And beyond cybersecurity, other technological issues, such as AI, are being addressed by the new H committee. While AI itself can represent advancements in the industry, we must also be mindful of the potential pitfalls that come along with this automation.

We want to see product innovation, but we also need to protect a consumer against potential problems such as predictive modeling, price algorithms, and AI, which may affect people of color or underrepresented groups. Making sure that everyone who needs insurance can get insurance is an important issue for us.

And making sure that consumers understand and know what they're buying and what protections it affords is a priority for the ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½ when looking at the marketing of insurance products.

As people become even more concerned with their family budgets, they look for the best value or least expensive option to serve their needs. We want to protect those consumers from being exposed to plans that may be marketed in an unfair and deceptive manner. Amending our Unfair Trade Practices Act and ensuring we stay up to date on some of these deceptive practices will help us keep our consumers safe and our markets safe and stable.

Another priority on our list is a possible transition of the long-term care strategy. We will continue working to resolve the inconsistent rate review practices among the state insurance departments and ensure consistent regulatory oversight and reduced benefit options are available to our collective citizenry. Customers who have these products should get what they are paying for.

Race and Insurance continues to be a priority for the ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½.

We must continue to focus on addressing race, diversity, and inclusion within the insurance sector. Our customers are varied, our products are varied, our services are varied and we should meet that.

This includes not only access to affordable products, but also practices within the insurance industry that may have the potential to disadvantage people of color or underrepresented groups. We need to look at that. We are taking major steps to make sure that the protection gap is closed and that we look at ways to make financial inclusion a priority. We'll continue to work across the various committees to accomplish these goals. But it takes all of us to do that.

And last, but certainly not least, is Climate Risk, Natural Catastrophe, and Resiliency. Every commissioner in every state has a list of natural disasters they are dealing with.

From droughts to flooding, tornadoes to hurricanes, wildfires to earthquakes. Our newsfeeds are full of an increasing number of natural catastrophes. And this makes the business of insurance even more complicated. This is not just a state problem, or a United States problem. It is a global issue. We are continuing to look at ways to anticipate and plan for these events and to reduce the negative impact on our consumers.

One of the key ways we can help consumers prepare is through education. The ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½ hopes to develop a consumer education campaign on the coverage gap to help build awareness about this issue and inform them of the ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½'s efforts to work on this problem on their behalf.

If you want more information about the ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½'s 2023 Priorities, you can tune in to Season 5, Episode 2 of the ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½â€™s Regulators Podcast where I talked about each of these in more detail.

As we look ahead to the rest of this week and all of the important work which continues to be before us, I want to remind you again that this year is the year of CALM.

I know I've already explained this is a play on my initials, and in my first newsletter I outlined what each letter of CALM represents.

But now, I want to put one more layer of meaning on the word CALM.

The dictionary would tell us that calm simply implies the absence of agitation. Or, one who is composed or has clarity of judgment.

Calm will help guide us as we address the many issues ahead of us. The work we have before us is important and complex. We will not always agree on the solutions or the path forward, but I know we will work together to find the right path. To pivot where we need to and abandon what no longer works.

We'll be calm and collegial.

I have the utmost respect for the talent and knowledge represented by this body of regulators. I look forward to working with you this year and to moving the ball forward for the consumers we serve.

I want to thank you for working with me and together with consumers and the varied industry we regulate, to make products plentiful, meaningful, accessible and most of all fairly priced and available.

Welcome to the ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½ Spring National Meeting.

Thank you for being here.

I look forward to the sessions and discussing the work of the ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½. 

I encourage you to network, make note of ways you can support insurance state regulators and the mission of the ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëù¹Ù·½. Thank you and welcome!

This meeting is adjourned.