NAIC Ponders Rating Agency Alternatives

National Harbor, Md.

State insurance regulators, after a hearing examining the flawed performance of top rating agencies in assessing the risk of complex securities held by carriers, left unresolved what their next move will be, holding open the possibility of performing the task themselves.

A trio of rating agencies–Moody’s, Fitch and Standard & Poor’s–were called on the carpet during a day-long hearing on Sept. 17 at the Fall National Meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which employs rating agency evaluations to determine insurer risk-based capital requirements.