CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 394(L&C) am "An Act relating to allowing insurance policy forms to be filed and approved in languages other than English if an official English language version is also filed, and authorizing use of insurance policy forms and associated materials in languages other than English." This was the first hearing for this bill in the Senate Finance Committee. 11:39:43 AM REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MEYER, the bill's sponsor, testified that more than 80,000 Alaskans speak a language other than English. Statute does not specify which version of an insurance policy or information about a policy published in both English and another language was the official version. State statute currently prohibits information and advertisements concerning insurance and insurance policies from being published in any language besides English. Since there is never a "perfect" translation, and any translation is easily challenged in Court, insurance companies are reluctant to produce translated documents. This law would allow insurance companies to publish materials and advertise in a language other than English, provided the English version was deemed the official document. Representative Meyer claimed this bill would allow insurance companies in the state to provide services to a growing portion of Alaskans, while clarifying their responsibilities to protect the consumer. 11:41:48 AM Senator Bunde observed that insurance policies may already be written in a foreign language. Co-Chair Green declared a conflict of interest, as her husband owns an insurance company. His company employs a person who speaks Spanish as well as another foreign language, and the office has greatly benefited from her ability to explain policies and answer questions in a language more familiar to their customers. 11:42:50 AM Senator Stedman disclosed that he also owns part of an insurance agency. He would support the bill, and felt it would help explain some of the complications of insurance. Co-Chair Green referenced the importance of the inclusion of "associated material" as defined by subsection (d) of Sec. 21.42.175. Non-English translations. added by Section 1 of the bill. Co-Chair Wilken asked how this bill would affect an insurance agent. Representative Meyer replied that there was an insurance agent in the room to testify who could answer specific questions. He cited the primary impact of the bill would be to allow a policy to be written in Spanish or another language. However, the official version provided to Division of Insurance would be in English. 11:44:47 AM MICHAEL PAWLOWSKI, Staff to Representative Meyer, inferred that the bill would not require an agent to do anything, but would allow insurance information to be printed in a language other than English. Co-Chair Wilken understood that this legislation would remove a prohibition currently in statute on printing insurance documents in another language. Mr. Pawlowski clarified that insurance companies are not barred from providing translations, but are reluctant to do so because there is no provision in statute to guarantee that the English version would be the official version. This bill would allow insurance companies to provide translations of the official documents with the security that the English version would be the official version. Co-Chair Wilken surmised that the bill would allow an insurance company to produce a policy in a foreign language, and that policy would then become the official policy. Mr. Pawlowski corrected that the foreign language policy would be for informational purposes only, and the English version would be official version. Representative Meyer concurred. 11:46:28 AM Senator Olson asked if a policy written in two languages could be challenged in court based on an interpretation of the foreign language version. 11:47:23 AM Mr. Pawlowski responded that the English version would always be the official version. The version in another language would be for informational purposes only. The consumer protection portion of the bill is contained in subsection (c) of the bill and provides that an insurance company may not "misrepresent information" in any of the foreign language information it provides. 11:47:57 AM JEFFREY TROUT, Deputy Director, Division of Insurance, Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, spoke in support of the bill. He concurred with the sponsor's remarks. The Division viewed this legislation as a consumer protection bill that would assist consumers. While some people may argue that all Americans should speak English proficiently, that is, in reality, unlikely for first generation immigrants. Mr. Trout set forth that there are currently no laws or regulations to address how the insurance industry handles foreign language translations. In the past, the Division has accepted foreign language policies, as long they were accompanied by an English translation. He predicted the affect on the average insurance agent would be "nominal". The proposed legislation is directed at insurance companies, in clarifying what information they can publish in other languages. Agents could choose to opt in, or continue operating as they currently do. 11:51:12 AM SHELDON WINTERS, representative, State Farm Insurance, testified that the insurance industry is in support of this legislation and in support of providing information to consumers. 11:52:09 AM Co-Chair Wilken offered a motion to report the bill from Committee with individual recommendations and accompanying fiscal note. There being no objection, CS HB 394 (L&C) am, was REPORTED from Committee with zero fiscal note #1 from the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development. 11:52:41 AM