Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 160 / Monday, August 18, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 48151 

We are also adding a new section to 

the regulations to address the service of 

Congressional subpoenas on the 

Department or the Secretary. Under the 

amended regulations, the staff in the 

Office of the Assistant Secretary for 

Legislation is authorized to accept 

Congressional subpoenas on behalf of 

the Department. As the official liaison 

between the Department and Congress, 

the Office of the Assistant Secretary for 

Legislation is best suited to accept 

service of Congressional subpoenas, 

coordinate the Department’s response to 

Congressional investigations and 

prepare witnesses and testimony for 

Congressional hearings. 

Public Participation 

This rule is published as a final rule. 

It is exempt from public comment, 

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A) as a rule 

of ‘‘agency organization, procedure, or 

practice.’’

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This regulation is not subject to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act because it 

deals solely with internal rules 

governing Department of Health and 

Human Services personnel. 

Cost/Regulatory Analysis 

In accordance with Executive Order 

12866, the Secretary has determined 

that this rule will not constitute a 

‘‘significant regulatory action’’ as 

defined in Executive Order 12866 in 

that it will not have an annual effect on 

the economy of $100 million or more a 

year or adversely affect in a material 

way the economy, productivity, 

competition, jobs, the environment, 

public health or safety, or state, local or 

tribal governments or communities. 

This rule is therefore not subject to the 

regulatory impact and analysis 

requirements of the Order. 

This rule will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities; therefore, 

preparation of a regulatory flexibility 

analysis is not required. 

List of Subjects in 45 CFR Part 4 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Government employees. 

■ Accordingly, for the reasons set forth 

in the preamble, 45 CFR part 4 is 

amended as follows: 

PART 4—[AMENDED] 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 4 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301, 42 U.S.C. 300aa11. 

■ 2. Revise § 4.2(b) to read as follows: 

§ 4.2 Other process directed to the 

Department or Secretary. 

* * * * * 

(b) If served by an individual, the 

process should be delivered to the staff 

in the Office of Legal Resources, Office 

of the General Counsel, Room 700E, 200 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20201, or in the 

absence of that staff, to any staff member 

of or individual assigned to the 

Immediate Office of the General 

Counsel, up to and including any 

Deputy General Counsel. 

■ 3. Add § 4.7 to read as follows: 

§ 4.7 Congressional subpoenas directed to 

the Department or Secretary. 

Notwithstanding the provisions of 

§§ 4.1, 4.2, and 4.3, service of 

Congressional subpoenas shall be 

delivered to the staff in the Office of the 

Assistant Secretary for Legislation, 

Department of Health and Human 

Services, 200 Independence Avenue, 

SW., Washington, DC 20201. 

Dated: August 11, 2008. 

Michael O. Leavitt, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E8–18917 Filed 8–15–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4150–26–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

49 CFR Part 544 

[Docket No.: NHTSA–2008–0055] 

RIN 2127–AK30 

Insurer Reporting Requirements; List 

of Insurers Required To File Reports 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This final rule amends 49 

CFR part 544, Insurer Reporting 

Requirements. This Part specifies the 

requirements for annual insurer reports 

and lists in appendices those passenger 

motor vehicle insurers that are required 

to file reports on their motor vehicle 

theft loss experiences. An insurer 

included in any of these appendices 

must file three copies of its report for 

the 2005 calendar year before October 

25, 2008. If the passenger motor vehicle 

insurers remain listed, they must submit 

reports by each subsequent October 25. 

DATES: This final rule becomes effective 

on September 17, 2008. If you wish to 

submit a petition for reconsideration of 

this rule, your petition must be received 

by October 2, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Petitions for reconsideration 

should refer to the docket number and 

be submitted to: Administrator, National 

Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., West 

Building, Room W41–307, Washington, 

DC 20590. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rosalind Proctor, Office of International 

Policy, Fuel Economy and Consumer 

Programs, NHTSA, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., West Building, Room 

W43–302, Washington, DC 20590, by 

electronic mail to 

rosalind.proctor@dot.gov. Ms. Proctor’s 

telephone number is (202) 366–0846. 

Her fax number is (202) 493–0073. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 33112, Insurer 

reports and information, NHTSA 

requires certain passenger motor vehicle 

insurers to file an annual report with the 

agency. Each insurer’s report includes 

information about thefts and recoveries 

of motor vehicles, the rating rules used 

by the insurer to establish premiums for 

comprehensive coverage, the actions 

taken by the insurer to reduce such 

premiums, and the actions taken by the 

insurer to reduce or deter theft. 

Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. Section 33112(f), 

the following insurers are subject to the 

reporting requirements: 

(1) Issuers of motor vehicle insurance 

policies whose total premiums account 

for 1 percent or more of the total 

premiums of motor vehicle insurance 

issued within the United States; 

(2) Issuers of motor vehicle insurance 

policies whose premiums account for 10 

percent or more of total premiums 

written within any one state; and 

(3) Rental and leasing companies with 

a fleet of 20 or more vehicles not 

covered by theft insurance policies 

issued by insurers of motor vehicles, 

other than any governmental entity. 

Pursuant to its statutory exemption 

authority, the agency exempted certain 

passenger motor vehicle insurers from 

the reporting requirements. 

A. Small Insurers of Passenger Motor 

Vehicles 

Section 33112(f)(2) provides that the 

agency shall exempt small insurers of 

passenger motor vehicles if NHTSA 

finds that such exemptions will not 

significantly affect the validity or 

usefulness of the information in the 

reports, either nationally or on a stateby-state basis. The term ‘‘small insurer’’

is defined, in Section 33112(f)(1)(A) and 

(B), as an insurer whose premiums for 


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48152 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 160 / Monday, August 18, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 

1A.M. Best Company is a well-recognized source 

of insurance company ratings and information. 49 

U.S.C. 33112(i) authorizes NHTSA to consult with 

public and private organizations as necessary. 

2Automotive Fleet Magazine and Auto Rental 

News are publications that provide information on 

the size of fleets and market share of rental and 

leasing companies. 

motor vehicle insurance issued directly 

or through an affiliate, including 

pooling arrangements established under 

state law or regulation for the issuance 

of motor vehicle insurance, account for 

less than 1 percent of the total 

premiums for all forms of motor vehicle 

insurance issued by insurers within the 

United States. However, that section 

also stipulates that if an insurance 

company satisfies this definition of a 

‘‘small insurer,’’ but accounts for 10 

percent or more of the total premiums 

for all motor vehicle insurance issued in 

a particular state, the insurer must 

report about its operations in that state. 

In the final rule establishing the 

insurer reports requirement (49 CFR 

part 544; 52 FR 59, January 2, 1987), 

NHTSA exercised its exemption 

authority by listing in Appendix A each 

insurer that must report because it had 

at least 1 percent of the motor vehicle 

insurance premiums nationally. Listing 

the insurers subject to reporting, instead 

of each insurer exempted from reporting 

because it had less than 1 percent of the 

premiums nationally, is 

administratively simpler, since the 

former group is much smaller than the 

latter. In Appendix B, NHTSA lists 

those insurers required to report for 

particular states because each insurer 

had a 10 percent or greater market share 

of motor vehicle premiums in those 

states. In the January 1987 final rule, the 

agency stated that it would update 

Appendices A and B annually. NHTSA 

updates the appendices based on data 

voluntarily provided by insurance 

companies to A.M. Best, which A.M. 

Best 1 publishes in its State/Line Report 

each spring. The agency uses the data to 

determine the insurers’ market shares 

nationally and in each state. 

B. Self-Insured Rental and Leasing 

Companies 

In addition, upon making certain 

determinations, NHTSA grants 

exemptions to self-insurers, i.e., any 

person who has a fleet of 20 or more 

motor vehicles (other than any 

governmental entity) used for rental or 

lease whose vehicles are not covered by 

theft insurance policies issued by 

insurers of passenger motor vehicles, 49 

U.S.C. 33112(b)(1) and (f). Under 49 

U.S.C. 33112(e)(1) and (2), NHTSA may 

exempt a self-insurer from reporting, if 

the agency determines: 

(1) The cost of preparing and 

furnishing such reports is excessive in 

relation to the size of the business of the 

insurer; 

(2) The insurer’s report will not 

significantly contribute to carrying out 

the purposes of Chapter 331. 

In a final rule published June 22, 1990 

(55 FR 25606), the agency granted a 

class exemption to all companies that 

rent or lease fewer than 50,000 vehicles, 

because it believed that the largest 

companies’ reports sufficiently 

represent the theft experience of rental 

and leasing companies. NHTSA 

concluded that smaller rental and 

leasing companies’ reports do not 

significantly contribute to carrying out 

NHTSA’s statutory obligations and that 

exempting such companies will relieve 

an unnecessary burden on them. As a 

result of the June 1990 final rule, the 

agency added Appendix C, consisting of 

an annually updated list of the selfinsurers subject to part 544. Following 

the same approach as in Appendix A, 

NHTSA included, in Appendix C, each 

of the self-insurers subject to reporting 

instead of the self-insurers which are 

exempted. NHTSA updates Appendix C 

based primarily on information from 

Automotive Fleet Magazine and Auto 

Rental News.2

C. When a Listed Insurer Must File a 

Report 

Under part 544, as long as an insurer 

is listed, it must file reports on or before 

October 25 of each year. Thus, any 

insurer listed in the appendices must 

file a report before October 25, 2008, 

and by each succeeding October 25, 

absent an amendment removing the 

insurer’s name from the appendices. 

II. Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

1. Insurers of Passenger Motor Vehicles 

On May 6, 2008, NHTSA published a 

notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) 

to update the list of insurers in 

Appendices A, B, and, C required to file 

reports (73 FR 24906). 

Appendix A lists insurers that must 

report because each had 1 percent of the 

motor vehicle insurance premiums on a 

national basis. The list was last 

amended in a final rule published on 

August 30, 2007 (72 FR 50077). Based 

on the 2005 calendar year market share 

data from A.M. Best, NHTSA proposed 

to remove CNA Insurance Companies 

and add Auto Club Southern California 

Group and California State Auto Group 

to Appendix A. 

Appendix B lists insurers required to 

report because each insurer had a 10 

percent or greater market share of motor 

vehicle premiums in a particular State. 

Based on the 2005 calendar year data for 

market shares from A.M. Best, we 

proposed to make no changes to 

Appendix B. 

2. Rental and Leasing Companies 

Appendix C lists rental and leasing 

companies required to file reports. Since 

Enterprise Fleet Services (EFS) did not 

meet the criteria the agency uses to 

determine that an insurer should be 

included in Appendix C, NHTSA 

proposed to remove Enterprise Fleet 

Services. 

Public Comments on Final 

Determination 

Insurers of Passenger Motor Vehicles 

The agency received no comments in 

response to the NPRM. Therefore, this 

final rule adopts the proposed changes 

to Appendix A and C. Accordingly, 

NHTSA has determined that each of the 

19 insurers listed in Appendix A, each 

of the nine insurers listed in Appendix 

B and each of seven companies listed in 

Appendix C are required to submit an 

insurer report on its experience for 

calendar year 2005 no later than October 

25, 2008, and set forth the information 

required by part 544. As long as these 

insurers and companies remain listed, 

they would be required to submit 

reports before each subsequent October 

25 for the calendar year ending slightly 

less than 3 years before. 

Submission of Theft Loss Report 

Passenger motor vehicle insurers 

listed in the appendices can forward 

their theft loss reports to the agency in 

several ways: 

a. Mail: Rosalind Proctor, Office of 

International Policy, Fuel Economy and 

Consumer Programs, Department of 

Transportation, NHTSA, West Building, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., NVS–131, 

Room W43–302, Washington, DC 20590; 

b. E-mail: rosalind.proctor@dot.gov; 

or 

c. Fax: (202) 493–0073. 

Theft loss reports may also be 

submitted to the docket electronically 

[identified by Docket No. NHTSA–

2008–0055] by: 

d. Logging onto the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal: Go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for filing the document 

electronically. 

Regulatory Impacts 

1. Costs and Other Impacts 

This notice has not been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12866, 

Regulatory Planning and Review. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 160 / Monday, August 18, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 48153 

NHTSA has considered the impact of 

this final rule and determined that the 

action is not ‘‘significant’’ within the 

meaning of the Department of 

Transportation’s regulatory policies and 

procedures. This final rule implements 

the agency’s policy of ensuring that all 

insurance companies that are statutorily 

eligible for exemption from the insurer 

reporting requirements are in fact 

exempted from those requirements. 

Only those companies that are not 

statutorily eligible for an exemption are 

required to file reports. 

NHTSA does not believe that this 

rule, reflecting current data, affects the 

impacts described in the final regulatory 

evaluation prepared for the final rule 

establishing part 544 (52 FR 59; January 

2, 1987). Accordingly, a separate 

regulatory evaluation has not been 

prepared for this rulemaking action. 

Using the Bureau of Labor Statistics 

Consumer Price Index for 2006 (see 

http://www.bls.gov/cpi), the cost 

estimates in the 1987 final regulatory 

evaluation were adjusted for inflation. 

The agency estimates that the cost of 

compliance is $103,671 for any insurer 

added to Appendix A, $41,468 for any 

insurer added to Appendix B, and 

$11,964 for any insurer added to 

Appendix C. This final rule will remove 

one company and add two companies to 

Appendix A, and remove one company 

from Appendix C. Therefore, the net 

effect of this final rule is an increased 

cost of $91,707 to insurers as a group. 

Interested persons may wish to 

examine the 1987 final regulatory 

evaluation. Copies of that evaluation 

were placed in Docket No. T86–01; 

Notice 2. Any interested person may 

obtain a copy of this evaluation by 

writing to NHTSA, Technical Reference 

Division, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 

East Building (Ground Floor), Room 

E12–100, Washington, DC 20590, or by 

calling (202) 366–2588. 

2. Paperwork Reduction Act 

The information collection 

requirements in this final rule were 

submitted and approved by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

pursuant to the requirements of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

3501 et seq.). The existing information 

collection indicates that the number of 

respondents for this collection is thirtyfive, however, the actual number of 

respondents fluctuate from year to year. 

Therefore, because the number of 

respondents required to report for this 

final rule does not exceed the number 

of respondents indicated in the existing 

information collection, the agency does 

not believe that an amendment to the 

existing information collection is 

necessary. This collection of 

information is assigned OMB Control 

Number 2127–0547 (‘‘Insurer Reporting 

Requirements’’) and is approved for use 

through August 31, 2009, and the 

agency will seek to extend the approval 

afterwards. 

3. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The agency also considered the effects 

of this rulemaking under the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601 et 

seq.). I certify that this final rule will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

The rationale for the certification is that 

none of the companies listed on 

Appendices A or C are construed to be 

a small entity within the definition of 

the RFA. ‘‘Small insurer’’ is defined, in 

part under 49 U.S.C. 33112, as any 

insurer whose premiums for all forms of 

motor vehicle insurance account for less 

than 1 percent of the total premiums for 

all forms of motor vehicle insurance 

issued by insurers within the United 

States, or any insurer whose premiums 

within any State, account for less than 

10 percent of the total premiums for all 

forms of motor vehicle insurance issued 

by insurers within the State. This notice 

exempts all insurers meeting those 

criteria. Any insurer too large to meet 

those criteria is not a small entity. In 

addition, in this rulemaking, the agency 

exempts all ‘‘self insured rental and 

leasing companies’’ that have fleets of 

fewer than 50,000 vehicles. Any selfinsured rental and leasing company too 

large to meet that criterion is not a small 

entity. 

4. Federalism 

This action has been analyzed 

according to the principles and criteria 

contained in Executive Order 12612, 

and it has been determined that the final 

rule does not have sufficient federalism 

implications to warrant the preparation 

of a Federalism Assessment. 

5. Environmental Impacts 

In accordance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act, NHTSA has 

considered the environmental impacts 

of this final rule and determined that it 

would not have a significant impact on 

the quality of the human environment. 

6. Civil Justice Reform 

This final rule does not have any 

retroactive effect, and it does not 

preempt any State law, 49 U.S.C. 33117 

provides that judicial review of this rule 

may be obtained pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 

32909, and section 32909 does not 

require submission of a petition for 

reconsideration or other administrative 

proceedings before parties may file suit 

in court. 

7. Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) 

The Department of Transportation 

assigns a regulation identifier number 

(RIN) to each regulatory action listed in 

the Unified Agenda of Federal 

Regulations. The Regulatory Information 

Service Center publishes the Unified 

Agenda in April and October of each 

year. You may use the RIN contained in 

the heading at the beginning of this 

document to find this action in the 

Unified Agenda. 

8. Plain Language 

Executive Order 12866 requires each 

agency to write all rules in plain 

language. Application of the principles 

of plain language includes consideration 

of the following questions: 

• Have we organized the material to 

suit the public’s needs? 

• Are the requirements in the 

proposal clearly stated? 

• Does the proposal contain technical 

language or jargon that is not clear? 

• Would a different format (grouping 

and order of sections, use of headings, 

paragraphing) make the rule easier to 

understand? 

• Would more (but shorter) sections 

be better? 

• Could we improve clarity by adding 

tables, lists, or diagrams? 

• What else could we do to make the 

proposal easier to understand? 

If you have any responses to these 

questions, you can forward them to me 

several ways: 

a. Mail: Rosalind Proctor, Office of 

International Policy, Fuel Economy and 

Consumer Programs, NHTSA, West 

Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 

NVS–131, Room W43–302, Washington, 

DC 20590. 

b. E-mail: rosalind.proctor@dot.gov; 

or Fax: (202) 493–0073. 

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 544 

Crime insurance, Insurance, Insurance 

companies, Motor vehicles, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements. 

■ In consideration of the foregoing, 49 

CFR part 544 is amended as follows: 

PART 544—[AMENDED] 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 544 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 33112; delegation of 

authority at 49 CFR 1.50. 

■ 2. In § 544.5, paragraph (a), the second 

sentence is revised to read as follows: 

§ 544.5 General requirements for reports. 

(a) * * * This report shall contain the 

information required by § 544.6 of this 


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48154 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 160 / Monday, August 18, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 

1 Indicates a newly listed company which must 

file a report beginning with the report due October 

25, 2008. 

part for the calendar year 3 years 

previous to the year in which the report 

is filed (e.g., the report due by October 

25, 2008 will contain the required 

information for the 2005 calendar year). 

* * * 

■ 3. Appendix A to part 544 is revised 

to read as follows: 

Appendix A—Insurers of Motor Vehicle 

Insurance Policies Subject to the 

Reporting Requirements in Each State 

in Which They Do Business 

Allstate Insurance Group 

American Family Insurance Group 

American International Group 

Auto Club Southern California Group 1

Auto-Owners Insurance Group 

Erie Insurance Group 

Berkshire Hathaway/GEICO Corporation 

Group 

California State Auto Group 1

Hartford Insurance Group 

Liberty Mutual Insurance Companies 

Metropolitan Life Auto & Home Group 

Mercury General Group 

Nationwide Group 

Progressive Group 

Safeco Insurance Companies 

State Farm Group 

St. Paul Travelers Companies 

USAA Group 

Farmers Insurance Group 

■ 5. Appendix C to part 544 is revised 

to read as follows: 

Appendix C—Motor Vehicle Rental and 

Leasing Companies (Including 

Licensees and Franchisees) Subject to 

the Reporting Requirements of Part 544 

Cendant Car Rental 

Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group 

EmKay, Inc. 

Enterprise Rent-A-Car 

Hertz Rent-A-Car Division (subsidiary of The 

Hertz Corporation) 

U-Haul International, Inc. (Subsidiary of 

AMERCO) 

Vanguard Car Rental USA 

Issued on: August 11, 2008. 

Nathaniel M. Beuse, 

Office of Crash Avoidance Standards, 

Director. 

[FR Doc. E8–18882 Filed 8–15–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 


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