Senate committee adopts substitute to modernize Alaska travel insurance rules

The Senate Labor and Commerce Committee adopted a committee substitute for Senate Bill 244 on March 23, updating Alaska's travel insurance statutes to expand producer licensing, clarify filing requirements and strengthen consumer protections.

Conrad Jackson, staff to Committee Chair Senator Bjorkman, told the committee the bill "provides much more clarity to the consumer, much more clarity to regulators, to the industry" by expanding and clarifying definitions, adding premium-tax provisions and creating a new travel insurance article in statute. Jackson said the CS also replaces an older travel-insurance code section with a consolidated set of provisions (new sections including 21.42.800 through 21.42.825) and sets the act to apply to contracts delivered or renewed on or after the bill's effective date.

Heather Carpenter, director of the Division of Insurance, said the bill would broaden the class of producers who can legally sell travel products beyond current "limited travel insurance producer" licenses and require those producers to hold either a resident or nonresident license with the division. "This bill will expand the types of producers who could legally sell the products," Carpenter said, and it also "gives us more authority to look at those products and review them before they are offered to Alaskans."

The committee substitute makes two small technical corrections: it replaces the term "wet marine" with "inland marine" to direct companies to the proper filing line for travel products, and it adds an effective-date clause that enacts the act on Jan. 1, 2027. The chair and staff also noted the CS repeals the prior travel-insurance provision (AS 21.27.152) and adds statutory sections to define classification, producer roles, protection plans, sales practices and administrator authority.

A committee member moved to adopt the CS as the working document; with no sustained objection, Senator Bjorkman reported SB244 from the committee "with individual recommendations and attached fiscal note." The committee took a brief at ease to sign paperwork following the action.

What happens next: SB244, as reported from committee, will move to the Senate calendar for further consideration and any additional floor debate. The Division of Insurance will continue to review filings and advise regulators on implementation once (and if) the bill becomes law.