Finally, I want to offer a comment on recent action taken by the NAIC that I think has served to provide some confusion, if you will, to regulators, regulated industries and consumer participants.

That has to do with our decision to abolish formal advisory committees.

I think we recognize the need to refine our process.

• We took this step in March to send a clear signal that we would not be having any more formal advisory committees.
• But at the same time the NAIC membership made it clear that we value the input of all interested parties in our process.
• We pride ourselves on the extent to which our process is open and deliberative and the leadership, I hope, has made clear to our members this year that we only should close meetings when absolutely essential.
• Given the new interest in what we do as a result of accreditation, it's important that our process be open to all of those who have an interest, be they regulators, legislators, consumers, insurers, agents, what have you. Our process has got to be open.
• We have recognized though, because of the questions we are receiving, that perhaps there is a need to refine a little bit exactly how we will be channeling and provide a channel for this input.
• We've heard from many of you who represent insurers and others.
• We've heard from our own members.
• We've heard from consumers that we need to analyze very carefully our new system which replaced formal advisory committees.
• I intend to do that with our Executive Committee.

I want to make one thing clear-that does not suggest we are going back to formal advisory committees.

• What it does suggest is that we have an interest in making sure that our process is open.
• We want all of our working groups and task forces to have open meetings in which comments can be received on our work products and we want to make sure that our whole approach to receiving input is, in fact, consistent and understandable to regulators, to regulated industries and to consumers, to legislators and all other groups, National Governors Association (NGA), National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL), National
  Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and others who have a very keen interest in what we do.
• So over the course of the next several weeks, I am hopeful that we can send out yet another memorandum to our members and to other individuals who are interested to try to set up and hopefully refine a system whereby we are all comfortable and we understand the extent to which we do value the input of all of you in this room, whether you represent consumers, insurers, agents, trade, whomever.

1993-2, NAIC Proceedings