Committee advances omnibus insurance cleanup bill and prepaid‑funeral changes

The Insurance Department presented SB 357 as a periodic omnibus cleanup covering multiple technical fixes to insurance law. Amanda Rose (legal division) walked the committee through sections updating financial exam response windows (30→20 days), market‑conduct filing penalties for domestics, captive exam schedules, HMO treatment under the life and health guarantee fund, and other statutory cleanups. The sponsor emphasized the changes are largely administrative or to align state law with national NAIC standards.

Separately, Senator Wallace presented SB 97 with targeted changes to prepaid funeral contracts and reporting: a 30‑day surrender requirement when a permit lapses, consolidation of reporting frequency from quarterly to annual for many providers, and abolition of a seldom‑used advisory board. The committee recorded no opposition and passed the bills.

Next steps: SB 357 and SB 97 were reported to the floor for further consideration.