NU Online News Service
While building on the success it had in 2005, the property-casualty insurance industry will continue to work on many of the same challenges in 2006, according to the American Insurance Association.
Regulatory reform, the use of credit data and the ongoing asbestos litigation debate are among the top priorities for 2006 that the AIA said it plans to focus on at both the federal and state level.
Although the asbestos issue has been around for decades, it received a great deal of attention in 2005 and should remain among the major tasks facing the insurance industry and Congress.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., led efforts to craft legislation establishing a $140 billion trust for victims of asbestos exposure but has run into stiff opposition from some Democrats. They question the ability of the fund to provide for all asbestos claims and are leery of removing victims' right to file suit.
"Despite pervasive evidence that the current system is dysfunctional, a workable federal solution remains elusive," the AIA said, noting that without federal action, "certain states are looking for their own legislative solutions to this problem."
Given the increasing globalization of the insurance industry, the AIA said it would work to bring the U.S. regulatory environment up to speed with the rest of the world.
"Despite its essential role in the most advanced economy in the world, the U.S. property-casualty industry labors under an antiquated regulatory system made up of 51 separate jurisdictions with substantial inconsistencies among their various regulations and laws," the group said.
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