Regulation/Legislation

Mobile-home owners in Florida insured by the states residual property insurer will see rates rise by an average of 0.3 percent, the states Office of Insurance Regulation said late yesterday.

The Global Federation of Insurance Associations, a group of 31 associations representing 87 percent of the insurance business globally and much of the U.S. industry, formally established itself as an association and held its first meeting today in Washington at the headquarters of the American Council of Life Insurers.

The European Commission may draw up rules for rescuing and closing down failing clearing houses and insurers, as regulators across the world seek to prevent collapsed businesses from wreaking havoc in financial markets.

The European Union's powerful insurance watchdog EIOPA on Friday blasted stagnant political talks to finalise new risk capital rules for the insurance sector, saying delay was undermining EU credibility internationally.

Michael McRaith, director of the Federal Insurance Office in the Treasury Department, has been named to head the Technical Committee of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors, the groups influential policy-developing body.

Insurers are preparing for a discussion on working out global standards for insurance supervision that, once in place, have the ability to change the industry and the insurance market in the U.S.