American International Group Inc. said today it will "accelerate steps" to spin off its Asian life insurance operations into a company that would be listed on an Asian stock exchange.

It will take at least three-to-five years for American International Group to repay the tens of billions spent by taxpayers to keep the beleaguered company afloat--and that's only if the capital markets cooperate, AIG's head informed Congress last week.

The National Conference of Insurance Legislators sent a letter last week to Congress insisting that proposals for financial services regulatory reform involve state and federal regulators as equal partners.

The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) is asking the Treasury Department to "tread carefully" in providing financial aid to life insurers with property-casualty operations.

The Treasury Department said last night it had approved Allstate Corporation and five other insurers to get taxpayer rescue money under its multibillion-dollar Capital Purchase Program.

The chairman of a key subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee today said he intends to move quickly to impose direct federal oversight of insurance, starting with a system to regulate systemic risk.

Consumer advocate and former insurance regulator J. Robert Hunter today said in congressional testimony that the federal government should take over capital, surplus and solvency regulation of insurance.

Don't create a health care insurance program that cuts us out of the market, insurance agents' and brokers' trade groups have written congressional leaders.