Consumers from New Jersey can buy insurance elsewhere, but cannot use a credit card to pay the premiums. At least in insurance, Congress is considering a modernization. But HR 10, the banking and insurance reform bill, does not recognize the impact of the Internet on delivery of services. It would reinforce the crazy quilt of state laws, rather than allow greater uniformity, and reinforce the balkanization of the Net. For example, if a Web company receives a payment from the insurance company for operating the site or for closure of a sale by the insurance company that started from the site, this should not be treated as a sale of insurance.
Mortgages present a similar concern.
Again, a number of states require a physical presence or other protectionist measure as a prerequisite to making consumer loans. The provisions also present a fractured set of laws for Web sites matching buyers and sellers. HR 10 needs to be reviewed for these purposes as well. The banking and the commerce committees in both the House and Senate should consider the Internet when they legislate in the financial services area. As federal agencies do a better job of providing electronic portals to citizens, the proximity of agencies to their congressional overseers may provide an advantage lacking in the private sector in cleaning up laws and regulations.