Assistant Professor Lars Powell, who holds the Whitbeck-Beyer Chair of Insurance and Financial Services at UALR, testified today before the Congressional Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Financial Services Committee. The panel is investigating the availability and affordability of insurance for consumers.

Powell will testify on credit-based insurance scores and the role they play in the underwriting and rating of personal lines of insurance, including homeowner and automobile insurance, and their effect on the availability and affordability of insurance for consumers, particularly racial and ethnic minorities.

The panel is exploring the advantages and disadvantages of recently introduced bills aimed at restricting or prohibiting the use of credit-based insurance scores in setting personal insurance rates.