The West Virginia Insurance Department and Nebraska Department of Insurance have joined the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ combined regulatory product, State Based Systems, leading the group’s president to suggest state regulators are coming together more.

SBS is a Web-based application used by regulators in 14 states and Washington, D.C., to regulate insurance functions.

The NAIC, which represents the insurance commissioners of all states, the District and six territories, said Nebraska and West Virginia regulators also will be using OPTins, the newest tool produced by the NAIC to automate regulatory compliance. OPTins is the Online Premium Tax for Insurance application that facilitates the collection of premium tax forms and payments.

Roger Sevigny

“The products support state-based insurance regulation by encouraging uniformity through the use of a single system,” said Roger Sevigny, NAIC president and New Hampshire insurance commissioner.

State insurance regulation is under threat, as President Barack Obama and Congress consider comprehensive financial service regulatory reform, including the possibility of an optional federal charter for insurers or shifting insurance regulation entirely to a federal agency.

“As the use and impact of SBS and OPTins continue to grow,” Sevigny said in a statement, “I believe uniformity across the NAIC membership will become much more common simply based on the communication channels that are opened when a state leverages these NAIC offerings. Communicating and networking with users from other states with similar goals becomes a regular occurrence as the members work together.”

Jane Cline, West Virginia insurance Commissioner and NAIC president-elect, said she was encouraged by the number of states using OPTins and SBS.

“These tools will be instrumental as we continue to improve and streamline our processes, maintain pace with NAIC uniformity initiatives and further expand our ability to effectively respond to our consumers,” she said.

Ann Frohman, Nebraska’s insurance director, said in a statement that SBS will “allow us to perform our work in the full insurance regulatory lifecycle using a single user-friendly interface.” She said the system has tools to improve response times, while holding down costs.

In addition to Nebraska and West Virginia, SBS is used in Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Washington, D.C.

OPTins is employed in Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota and Rhode Island.