NU Online News Service, July 22, 2:07 p.m. EDT
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the United Kingdom Financial Services Authority (FSA), the second such MoU for the OIR.
Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said while the OIR and FSA have regularly cooperated with each other in the past, this agreement will give each regulatory agency formal authority to request assistance of the other for verification, investigation and examination of issues related to regulated companies under one or the other's purview.
"The long-standing link between Florida and the U.K. insurance market is one of the key facets of our marketplace," Commissioner McCarty said. "In our increasingly volatile globalized market, a proactive approach to regulatory cooperation is critical for our responsibilities regarding the monitoring of financial solvency and general policyholder protection."
The OIR noted that the U.K. "plays an important role in providing reinsurance capacity for Florida domestic insurers. Florida companies require in excess of $20 billion from private reinsurers, 18 percent of which comes from Lloyd's of London."
A month ago, the OIR announced a similar arrangement with Germany's integrated financial regulator, the Bundesanstalt f?r Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin).
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