A Mandate For N.Y. Insurer Investments?

NU Online News Service, June 4, 4:25 p.m. EST?The head of the New York Assembly Insurance Committee said he will hold a hearing Friday on his measure requiring insurers to put a percentage of assets into "socially responsible" investments in New York.

"New York licensed insurers control vast amounts of capital," said Assemblyman Pete Grannis, D-Manhattan, who noted that last year 31 of 85 domestic life insurers "reported no New York investments for the previous year."

The committee chairman said that even commercial real estate holdings and stock in New York-based corporations are counted by the insurance department as an investment.

He said that among insurers, life insurers reported $1.6 trillion in admitted assets in 1999. "There should be a way to put some of this capital to work for New Yorkers, while still generating acceptable returns for insurers," he declared.

His bill (A9273-A) would require investments in sectors such as affordable housing, small businesses, healthcare clinics, family farms, day care centers, brownfields cleanup, and site preparation.

Under his measure, insurers could invest individually or through a new insurer-owned and managed investment vehicle, the Insurer Fund for Underserved Neighborhood/Rural Area Development (IFUND) Corp.

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A Mandate For N.Y. Insurer Investments?

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