When state insurance commissioners gather this weekend for their annual meeting, they will talk about everything from a federal charter to Katrina.
This year's meeting, sponsored by the Kansas City, Mo.-based National Association of Insurance Commissioners, takes place Feb. 5-8 in Naples, Fla.
NAIC President and Maine Insurance Superintendent Al Iuppa said among points to be taken up at the session is the issue of a voluntary federal chartering process that is sought by some in the insurance industry, but that state regulators believe is not necessary.
That topic will come up when the Treasury Department's assistant secretary for financial institutions, Emil Henry, addresses the commissioners, he said.
"We don't think of it as an optional federal charter. We think of it as a federal charter. We don't particularly think of it as optional," Mr. Iuppa remarked.
The effectiveness of state regulation, according to Mr. Iuppa, will be demonstrated by the advancement of the NAIC's Interstate Compact.
It is "very likely" that the 6 states still needed to attain the 26 state mark to make the compact active will be attained this year, he said.
Implementation plans are already under way, he continued. "We have asked staff to create an implementation plan," to create a turnkey operation in which you flip the switch and have it operational." The operation will initially be housed in Washington, Mr. Iuppa said.
Another issue related to state regulation that will be raised, he said, is the effectiveness of regulators in meeting insurance issues that surfaced after Hurricane Katrina.
Part of that discussion will include incorporating what was learned in the wake of four severe hurricanes last year into future plans and efforts including a national disaster plan, he explained.
Other issues that Mr. Iuppa said will surface include the suitability of the sale of annuity products, principles-based reserving and credit reinsurance, and the collateral requirements for non-U.S. reinsurers.
International issues, he noted, will be an important part of the gathering with insurance regulators from Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom in attendance. International solvency and accounting standards will be among the topics covered on a broad level, he said.
Sandy Praeger, NAIC vice president and Kansas insurance commissioner, said that a discussion of international insurance regulation will offer perspective as to why bodies such as the International Association of Insurance Supervisors are important to U.S. insurance regulators.
At a roundtable session next Wednesday, the status of S.B. 1955, a small employers' health insurance bill–also known as the Enzi bill for U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., who introduced it–and an update on Medicare Part "D" will be raised, she continued.
With regards to the Enzi bill, Ms. Praeger said NAIC is still part of the negotiations and is offering input into issues such as harmonization of benefits and ratings.
Another issue likely to be discussed is the next step regulators take to develop fingerprinting requirements as part of the "Authorization for Criminal History Record Check Model Act," according to Iowa Insurance Commissioner Susan Voss, who chairs the NAIC's Market Regulation and Consumer Affairs "D" Committee.
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