Alabama Insurance Commissioner Walter Bell, who leaves his regulatory post at the end of the month, is taking a job directing regulatory affairs and lobbying regulators for Swiss Re as chairman of Swiss Re America Holding Corp., the company said.

The firm announced that Mr. Bell, whose appointment is effective Sept. 2, will provide supervisory governance of the Americas businesses for Swiss Re, reporting directly to Swiss Re Chief Executive Officer Jacques Aigrain.

The company said further that he will also oversee and direct regulatory and public affairs for all of Swiss Re's North America businesses, “helping provide state and federal legislators, regulators and others with the insights they need for effective policy-making.”

Mr. Bell, who has been commissioner since 2003, served as National Association of Insurance Commissioners president last year. In June, he became the first international director of the Bermuda Monetary Authority. He currently is on the NAIC Executive Committee and is chairman of the NAIC International Insurance Relations Committee.

Mr. Bell is also vice chairman of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors, Basel, Switzerland, and a limited partner in the Mobile Bay Bears Baseball Team, an affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks franchise.

Before Mr. Bell joined the Alabama department, he was an executive at the MONY Group Inc., a life insurance firm in New York, which merged with AXA Financial Inc. a year after he left the firm.

Mr. Aigrain said the new chairman is an “outstanding addition to our firm, with his notable experience as a regulator and his leadership roles in the insurance industry.”

Mr. Bell said he looked forward “to collaborating with my colleagues at Swiss Re and working with government and the private sector to develop solutions that are at the forefront of insurance and the broader financial issues we face today.”

Mr. Bell served as chairman of the Diversity Marketing Committee of the Life Insurance Marketing Research Association (LIMRA) and is a former member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), the Million Dollar Roundtable and the Alabama Association of Life Underwriters. During his sales career, he was a member and past president of the Mobile Association of Life Underwriters.

Alabama Insurance Department General Counsel Reyn Norman said Mr. Bell would not be able to advocate on behalf of Swiss Re before the department for two years.

He said as insurance commissioner Mr. Bell did not “directly regulate” the insurer.

The Consumer Information Source on the NAIC Web site states that Swiss Re Life & Health America Inc. is licensed in Alabama as well as 47 other states.

But Mr. Bell said he is not being employed by that entity but rather by the holding company. He said he will not be dealing with the Alabama legislature or regulators and will be relocating to New York.

When asked about joining Swiss Re, which supports an optional federal charter after presiding over the NAIC, which opposes an OFC, Mr. Bell said he will be looking at Swiss Re's positions when he assumes his job.

Swiss Re spokesperson Alayna Tagariello said that it was premature to discuss any potential review or change in policies.

This article updated 3:54 p.m.

Special Reports /

Bell To Lobby Regulators For Swiss Re

Related Stories

Recommended For You