The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has signed separate Memorandums of Understanding with the German Bundesanstalt f?r Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin) and the the United Kingdom's Financial Services Authority, formally committing to work together on sharing critical information and coordinating regulatory duties regarding insurance issues that could affect consumers in their respective countries.
According to Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty, the agreement gives each regulatory agency formal authority to request assistance of the other for verification, investigation and examination of issues related to regulated companies under one or the other's purview.
The BaFin is the German integrated financial regulator, responsible for regulatory oversight in the insurance market, banking and securities. It administers the supervision of insurance undertakings, as well as pension funds and domestic companies engaging in reinsurance business. McCarty noted that the U.K. plays an important role in providing reinsurance capacity for Florida domestic insurers. Florida companies require in excess of $20 billion from private reinsurers, 18 percent of which comes from Lloyd's of London.
