Washington state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler is considering legal action against the NRA over its “Carry Guard” program.
This came as a response to a warning from Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-New York) last week in which he urged other states to block the Carry Guard program.
“We discovered that the NRA was marketing insurance products for gun owners that violated numerous state laws,” Cuomo wrote. “Insurers such as Chubb Ltd. and a broker Lockton Affinity, LLC. were providing illegal insurance coverage to gun owners for intentional criminal conduct resulting in bodily harm through the NRA’s Carry Guard program.”
Cuomo levied more $8 million in fines against those two insurers.
Critics of Carry Guard call it “murder insurance,” as the insurance covers “certain acts of intentional wrongdoing.” The liability insurance extends to people who commit crimes involving firearms, argued New York.
The NRA filed a lawsuit against New York claiming the state’s actions were a threat to “the NRA’s corporate existence and its advocacy mission.” As part of these filings, the NRA argued that it was facing financial ruin.
“I do plead guilty to stopping the NRA from conducting illegal activity in the state of New York. That I will plead guilty to, proudly,” Cuomo said in an interview with NPR.
Cuomo also wrote a scathing letter to the NRA, signing off by saying he’ll see them in court.
In Washington, the NRA received a cease and desist order in April which demanded that NRA stop selling four liability insurance policies. The NRA does not have the licenses needed to sell insurance in Washington.
Kreidler said that if existing state insurance laws do not adequately protect consumers from these kinds of practices, he would suggest a change in legislation.
“I am extremely concerned that the NRA continues to promote what appears to be a misleading product that may not provide consumers the protection it promises,” he said. “Consumers deserve to understand what they’re buying. If they’re being misled, I will take immediate action to protect them.”
While the NRA has spent significantly less in lobbying this year than in 2017, there’s ample skepticism about the organizations’ financial woes. This includes the organization’s expensive effort to get Trump’s Supreme Court nominee confirmed.