Regulation/Legislation

Companies are cutting back on sending individuals overseas for business, which is affecting the international market.

Insurers should choose who will regulate them--unless they are so big and widespread that only federal oversight will do the trick, magazine publisher and former Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes told an industry conference here.

Last Thursday, Reps. Dennis Moore, D-Kan., and Scott Garrett, R-NJ, introduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives modernizing and reforming regulation of the surplus lines (nonadmitted) market.

Allstate Corp. last week announced it would not participate in the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, explaining that it already has adequate capital and cash on hand.

Regulators around the globe are toughening up insurance requirements for companies doing business outside their domiciled countries, and the companies worldwide are demonstrating a greater willingness to focus on regulatory compliance.

American International Group's embattled chairman and chief executive officer, Edward M. Liddy, will step down as soon as replacements can be found, with the two leadership positions to be filled by separate individuals, the company announced last week.