Insurance licensing bill signed

PROVIDENCE — Gov. Lincoln Almond has signed the so-called Producer Licensing
Act, which deals with the licensing of insurance agents and is intended to make
the process in the state consistent with practices throughout the country. The
bill is intended to bring the state into compliance with the federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley
Act, which replaced the Glass-Steagall Act, Depression Era legislation designed
to regulate the insurance industry. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, among other things,
sets limits on which insurance products may be provided by which kinds of banks.