International Insurance Council Closes

By Steven Brostoff, Washington Editor

NU Online News Service, July 11, 9:54 a.m.EST?The International Insurance Council, the associationfocused on eliminating barriers to international trade ininsurance, is closing its doors, a victim of its own success, thegroup announced yesterday.

Gordon C. Stewart, president of the New York-based InsuranceInformation Institute and secretary to the board of theWashington-based IIC, said the board made the decision to terminatethe IIC largely because its mission was accomplished.

Mr. Stewart said in an interview that with the opening of globalinsurance markets under such initiatives as the General Agreementof Tariffs and Trade, China's entry into the World TradeOrganization and others, the board looked around and realized therewere no more battles to fight.

"The battle was won," he said.

The issues facing U.S. insurance companies interested in globalbusiness today tend to be more market-oriented rather than relatedto government barriers, he said.

At the same time, he said, the number of U.S. insurancecompanies interested in global business has declined. Some yearsago, he said, many insurance companies believed they needed to beglobal in order to compete. However, he said, some of thesecompanies then realized the enormous challenge it takes to become aglobal player and decided to refocus on the domestic market.

Thus, he said, there has been a shakeout in the number ofglobal, U.S.-based companies, leaving a few very strongplayers.

Mr. Stewart noted that IIC was in an odd situation relative toother trade groups in that it had a limited mission. IIC wasorganized in the aftermath of World War II, with the mission ofopening foreign markets, at a time when many countries emergingfrom the conflict had restrictive insurance markets.

With other trade associations, he said, one set of issues isreplaced by another set. He noted, for example, that insuranceassociations today are dealing with issues such as terrorisminsurance and toxic mold that are relatively new concerns.

But an organization such as IIC, which has a unique focus, isnot able to shift to another set of issues once its mission isaccomplished, Mr. Stewart said.

IIC worked to open international markets for the full range ofinsurance products, including life, non-life and pensions.