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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
Two insurer trade groups want the Senate to investigate the impact on U.S. consumers and markets of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors' intention to set capital standards for internationally active insurers.
“We are specifically concerned that the IAIS is attempting to develop a European-style quantitative insurance capital standards that it will seek to apply, not only to globally systemically important insurers, but also to many other companies as well,” said the National Association of Mutual Insurance Cos. and the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America in an April 24 letter to Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee leaders.
The letter requests that the committee hold a hearing to “examine the impact of this onerous and unnecessary standard imposed by foreign regulators on U.S. consumers, insurance markets and regulatory policy.”
The letter suggests several questions it believes the panel should explore. These include what impetus exists for creating a capital standard for insurers that have not been deemed systemically risky and whether a risk exists that these standards will eventually affect small and midsize insurers that are not internationally active.
The Basel, Switzerland-based IAIS announced that it was considering setting capital standards for internationally active insurers last October.