FIO asked to review NAIC’s authority
Vicky Beckett 13/07/2012
The director of the Federal Insurance Office has been asked to implement a report on whether the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is a viable regulatory body.
Representative Edward Royce of the FIO has written to Michael McRaith, director of the FIO, asking to clarify the role of the NAIC.
Royce (pictured) asked whether it is inconsistent for the NAIC to say it does not present itself as having regulatory authority and also state that is performs regulatory activities.
“If the NAIC is to play a significant role in our nation’s regulatory structure going forward do you believe its self-imposed rules on transparency and oversight […] are consistent with a world class organisation?” Royce asked.
Royce also asked the FIO whether reforms needed to be made to improve the NAIC’s transparency and oversight of its budget and open meeting policy.
This letter followed a previous letter from Royce to the NAIC asking it to explain it role. Royce argued: “Much of the NAIC’s work seems to be done behind closed doors.
“Serious questions arise when the actions listed above are taken by an organisation with a $70m budget that does not follow any open meeting laws.”
He accused the NAIC of making misleading statements regarding its processes.
“It is my hope that your pending FIO report on insurance modernisation will kick off a comprehensive discussion of the future of insurance regulation in the US,” Royce wrote to McRaith.