NU Online News Service, Nov. 30, 2:54 p.m.EST

The Treasury Department will hold a public hearing Dec. 9 togain industry views on what it should recommend in an upcomingreport on modernizing and improving insurance regulation.

The Treasury announced today that the meeting will be held inits Cash Room in the main Treasury building in downtown Washington,D.C.

It says the conference is designed to bring togetherstate-insurance regulators, federal-government officials, consumerorganizations, representatives of the insurance industry andinsurance experts “to have a meaningful exchange on potential areasfor insurance regulatory reform.”

The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC)says it supports the Treasury invitation.

Jimi Grande, NAMIC senior vice president of federal andpolitical affairs, says, “All too often in Washington the mandateto study an issue is used as a means to implementing anagenda.”

He says NAMIC appreciates that Mike McRaith, director of theTreasury's new Federal Insurance Office, “is taking a differentpath, seeking out the perspectives from many different parts of theinsurance industry in order to have a meaningful debate on how toimprove the regulatory structure.”

The conference is part of Treasury's effort to gather as muchinput as possible in advance of its mandate under the Dodd-Frankfinancial services reform law to provide a report to Congress byJan. 22 on how insurance regulation can be modernized.

The FIO, established under Dodd-Frank Act, is required to“monitor,” but not regulate, all aspects of the insurance industry,including identifying issues contributing to systemic risk.

Primary oversight of insurance companies and their holdingcompanies remains in the hands of state regulators, under thelaw.

The FIO, which reports to the Treasury secretary, is alsorequired to: monitor the availability and affordability ofinsurance to traditionally underserved populations; advise theTreasury secretary on major domestic insurance policy issues; anddevelop and coordinate federal policy on internationalinsurance-regulatory matters.

“[The American Insurance Association] looks forward tosharing its views on modernizing and improving insurance regulationat the upcoming conference at Treasury,” says spokesman Willem O.Rijksen. “The newly created FIO will serve to broaden the federalgovernment's understanding of the critical role of insurance in ournation's financial system. In addition, the FIO will serve asa unified voice for U.S. insurers on international insurancematters. While property-casualty insurers fared generallywell during the financial crisis, it is important to identify areaswhere regulation can be improved to enhance competition and growprivate markets.”