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Minutes for HB2072 - Committee on Judiciary
Short Title
Amending the uniform arbitration act of 2000 to address validity of an agreement to arbitrate in a contract of insurance.
Minutes Content for Mon, Feb 4, 2019
Jason Thompson, Senior Assistant Revisor, provided an overview of HB2072. (Attachment 1) He addressed questions from the membership.
Robert Sullivan, on behalf of the Kansas Bar Association, testified in support of HB2072. When the Kansas Arbitration Act was repealed in 2018 by HB2571 and replaced with the Revised Uniform Arbitration Act of 2000, the exception regarding the prohibition of a binding arbitration clause in an insurance contract was omitted. Mr. Sullivan believes the amendment as set forth in HB2072 to re-institute the prohibition is appropriate. Mr. Sullivan is a licensed life, health, property and casualty agent in Kansas, which he obtained for educational purposes and has never sold an insurance policy. Mr. Sullivan addressed questions from the membership. (Attachment 2)
Larrie Ann Brown, on behalf of Brad Smooth and American Property & Casualty Insurance Association, testified in opposition of HB2072. APCIA member companies support the increased use of arbitration in general, and in at least commercial lines insurance contracts in particular. They welcomed the law passed in 2018 but oppose HB2072 as a step backward. They do not view HB2072 as a mere technical clean up as some have suggested. This is a dramatic reversal of policy after only a few months of experience, and they believe the issue requires much more thought and legislative attention than anyone has been able to give it in the week since its introduction and only two full business days since the announcement of this scheduled hearing. They think there may be some merit to allowing time for the House Insurance Committee to review this proposal as well, since the impact of this amendment to last Session’s bill is all about insurance customers and the carriers that serve them. They ask that this matter be given the time and attention it deserves. Ms. Brown addressed questions from the membership. (Attachment 3)
