Regulation/Legislation

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.

While comparisons to mold and asbestos are inevitable, liability insurance exposures arising from the installation of tainted Chinese drywall in Southeast homes will not grow to asbestos-like proportions, legal experts predicted recently.

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.

Subcontractors and builders have not been frequent targets of the lawsuits over defective Chinese drywall so far, but that could soon change, a lawyer said recently.

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.

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.