New Wave of Products and Other Challenges to State Insurance Regulators: Reflections from ACI 14th Annual National Forum

The 14th annual National Forum on Insurance Regulation, sponsored by American Conference Institute, convened in New York City on March 7-8, 2018. This yearly event is a great opportunity to learn about emerging issues and recent developments in state insurance regulation from leaders of the insurance industry. This year’s Forum brought together senior officials of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC); state insurance commissioners; Chief Legal Officers of leading U.S. insurers, reinsurers and brokers; founders and CEOs from InsureTech startups; experts in the …

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The NAIC Appeals to the Secretary of the Treasury Over the Covered Agreement

While the U.S. and EU governments are deliberating on whether to accept the negotiated Covered Agreement (Agreement), state insurance regulators in the U.S. are continuing to express concerns about the Agreement. In February 2017, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) testified before Congress against the Agreement. On March 15, 2017, the NAIC continued these efforts by submitting a letter to the U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin detailing the NAIC’s concerns. One of the NAIC’s central concerns centers on the “significant confusion among current and …

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Looking for Balance in Principle-Based Reserving

In a recent article in Law360, Frederick J. Pomerantz and Aaron J. Aisen, attorneys in Goldberg Segalla’s Global Insurance Services Practice Group, provide a comprehensive overview of Principle-Based Reserving and the reasoning behind the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ decision to adopt this new system. 

The NAIC recently announced it adopted the recommendation of the Principle-Based Reserving Implementation Task Force to switch to PBR starting Jan. 1, 2017. As Fred and Aaron write in their analysis, “There are still a number of outstanding issues

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Principle Based Reserving Coming January 1, 2017

In recent years, life insurance companies have expressed concern that the current approach to product reserves does not take into account the increasingly complex, non-static, nature of current life insurance products. In response to these concerns, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) conducted “an extensive analysis of amended Standard Valuation Laws passed by 45 states, representing nearly 80 percent of the U.S. life insurance market.” The end result happened on June 10, 2016, when the National Association of Insurance Commissioners announced that …

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NAIC and CSIS Host Cyber Risk Conference

This post first appeared on Goldberg Segalla’s Data Privacy & Security blog.

On September 10, 2015, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) hosted a conference entitled “Managing Cyber Risk and the Role of Insurance.” Over three hundred individuals attended, including more than 30 insurance regulators, senior representatives from the U.S. Departments of Treasury and Homeland Security, and representatives from the private sector.

The primary focus of the conference was to explore how the …

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NAIC Tackles Cybersecurity Including Proposed Consumer Cybersecurity Bill of Rights

In the wake of recent cyber breaches against major health insurance companies, the NAIC is undertaking three initiatives designed to “protect consumer information and educate the public about cyber risks.” First, on July 28, 2015, the NAIC’s Cybersecurity Task Force issued a proposed Consumer Cybersecurity Bill of Rights. This Bill of Rights contains 12 specific rights for consumers including:

  • Know what type of personally identifiable information is being collected by the insurer and how long that information is being kept by the insurer, insurance
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New York Department of Financial Services Superintendent Continues Criticism of “Shadow Insurance” Transactions in Letter to U.S. Senate Committee

New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) Superintendent Benjamin Lawsky continued his attack against the use of so-called “shadow insurance” in an April 27, 2015 letter to the Honorable Sherrod Brown, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. In the letter, Lawsky called on regulators to initiate measures to address this “textbook example of regulatory arbitrage in order to protect the efficacy of our state-based system of regulation” and hopes to stimulate a national debate on these issues.

Lawsky …

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NAIC Adopts Cybersecurity Regulatory Guidance

On Thursday, April 16, 2015, the Cybersecurity Task Force of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) adopted the “Principles for Effective Cybersecurity Insurance Regulatory Guidance.” Monica J. Lindeen, the NAIC President and Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance noted that these 12 principles “will serve as the foundation for protection of sensitive consumer information held by insurers as well as insurance producers and guide regulators who oversee the insurance industry.”

The press release announcing the adoption notes:

The document identifies types of …

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NY Dept. of Financial Services Requests Detailed Cyber Security Reports From Insurers

Cyber security is clearly one of the highest priorities — if not the top concern — for regulators in 2015. Late last month, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) sent more than 160 licensed insurers a New York Insurance Law Section 308 Letter seeking a detailed report regarding their cyber security practices and procedures. The Section 308 Letter — to which there is now less than three weeks to respond — also provides greater insight into the scope of cyber security examinations that …

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Hackers Continue to Target Health Insurers

Another health insurer has fallen victim to hackers. Premera Blue Cross suffered a breach that may have affected upwards of 11 million consumers. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) announced that Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler was coordinating the response. NAIC President Monica J. Lindeen stated in the announcement, “Events like this underscore the need for consumers to take immediate and ongoing action to protect personal information like passwords to bank accounts, credit card companies, health insurance accounts and any electronic database that contains …

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