NAMIC works with U.S. Treasury Department in advance of the

Friday, Mar 27,2009, 2:25:16 PM Click:

WASHINGTON (March 25, 2009) –

During the meeting, the NAMIC officials and Treasury staff discussed the critical elements of the property/casualty insurance industry: that the industry is highly competitive and well capitalized, and that its state-based system of solvency regulation has performed well in comparison to federal counterparts in the banking and securities sectors. NAMIC also stressed the importance of maintaining this diverse competitive marketplace in order to protect policyholders.

NAMIC continued this dialogue with the Treasury Department last week in a letter sent to Secretary Timothy Geithner, reaffirming NAMIC’s positions prior to tomorrow’s hearing on financial services regulatory reform before the House Financial Services Committee.

NAMIC’s 1,400 member companies underwrite more than 40 percent of the property/casualty insurance market and range from large national insurers to many regional and small insurers, “giving us a broad perspective on the condition of the industry,” NAMIC wrote.

Changes in the nation’s financial oversight system should be carefully tailored to address those elements that pose systemic risk to the global financial system – not property/casualty insurance companies. “At this time, there is no evidence that the property/casualty industry poses any systemic risk to the global financial system,” the letter stated.
The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) has been working with officials from the U.S. Treasury Department to ensure that they understand the concerns of the property/casualty insurance industry. Earlier this month NAMIC staff held a meeting with several Treasury officials as the new department worked to craft a regulatory blueprint to help address the financial crisis.