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| Issue: #6 | November 14, 2014 |
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| Governor-Elect Ricketts Retains Ramge As Nebraska Insurance Director |
Cites Experience and Record of Accomplishment
 Nebraska Governor-elect Pete Ricketts has announced that he will retain Bruce Ramge as Director of the Nebraska Department of Insurance. "Bruce is an experienced leader with a strong record of accomplishment," said Governor-elect Pete Ricketts. "His expertise and talents will continue to serve Nebraskans well."
"I look forward to working with Director Ramge to protect policyholders, maintain a fair regulatory framework, and create a competitive marketplace for Nebraska's insurers and their customers," said Governor-elect Ricketts. "Affordable and reliable insurance is a critical part of keeping Nebraska a great place to live, work, and raise a family and by working together we can accomplish these goals."
IIAN President Phil Winkelmann of Omaha echoed the Governor-elect Ricketts' remarks, "IIAN leaders and staff look forward to continuing our excellent working relationship with the Director and his staff, as we work to protect Nebraska insurance consumers and maintain a healthy insurance marketplace." Winkelmann and IIAN leaders provided input to then candidate Ricketts in an interview in Omaha prior to the general election on November 4.
As Nebraska's Insurance Director, Ramge oversees about 100 agency employees who regulate Nebraska's insurance markets including functions such as solvency, market conduct, licensing, and premium taxation. Ramge joined the Insurance Department in 1984, and served in various roles until he was appointed to his current position by Gov. Dave Heineman in 2010. He graduated from Dana college in 1979, and received an MBA fro the University of Nebraska-Omaha in 1982.
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| HHS To Add Agent Information To Exchange Search Engine | |
Big "I" Advocated For Change Over The Last Year
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has informed the Big "I" that consumers seeking assistance in selecting health plans on the federal exchange - including Nebraska's exchange - will now have the ability to search for registered agents and brokers.
The federal exchange website previously provided consumers with contact information for navigators, certified application counselors and other assisters. But many observers have regarded the absence of similar agent and broker information as a conspicuous and controversial oversight.
IIAN's Health Insurance Exchange Task Force, chaired by Mark Lisko of Omaha, worked with Insurance Director Bruce Ramge to post a list of agents registered in Nebraska to the Insurance Department's web site earlier this year. The HHS reports that more than 51,000 insurance producers have already completed the required federal exchange registration process for the 2015 plan year.
The welcome news of these exchange website enhancements comes just days before the Nov. 15 launch of the latest annual enrollment period. Agents and brokers will once again play an important role in the enrollment process.
The contact information for registered agents and brokers was scheduled for addition to the search engine last night. Click here for more information and how an agent or broker can change his or her displayed information on "Find Local Help."
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| Federal InsurPac Scores 93% Congressional Victory Rate | |
The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA) announced that its political action committee, InsurPac, supported more Senate and House campaigns than ever before and distributed a record amount of money along the way: $1,836,169 to a total of 292 federal campaigns, winning 272 of them for an amazing 93% victory rate. In disbursing this money, InsurPac did not look at party affiliation, instead giving money to representatives, senators and candidates for federal office who have been advocates for the independent agency system.
Each election, several independent agents run for federal office. With the goal of electing more insurance agents to Congress, the Big "I" established an independent expenditure unit that ran commercials and advertisements on their behalf. Those ads helped elect Big "I" member Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota) to the U.S. Senate-the first independent agent to serve in the upper chamber since the late 1990s. Read how Congressional results will impact independent agents.
 | | Click here for video recap |
IIAN-PAC Batted Over 700
IIAN's political action committee (IIAN-PAC) distributed $17,200 for the General Election, and scored a 72% victory rate in 24 Unicameral races on November 4. IIAN also endorsed and supported Governor-elect Pete Ricketts. Says IIAN Legislative Representative Jim Cavanaugh, " We were successful in helping re-elect seven incumbents who will return to leadership positions in the 2015-16 session, along with independent insurance agent Mark Kolterman from York. IIAN-PAC won the most important races and we'll enter the 2015-16 Unicameral session ina strong position to help fashion insurance policy in Nebraska."
IIAN thanks all of our members who support IIAN-PAC and InsurPac as members of our Circle of Eagles! Click here to join the Circle.
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| How To Contact Us | |
Jim Cavanaugh, Legislative Representative
1-800-342-3352/402-341-2020 Office 402-301-9675 Cell
cavanaughlawfirm@aol.com
Carol McClelland, CAE, CEO
1-800-377-3985/402-476-2951 Office 402-432-5113 Cell
carol.mcclelland@biginebraska.org
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