NU Online News Service, Aug. 16, 3:18 p.m. EDT

SEATTLE–The global insurance marketplace needs to develop better regulatory language to help facilitate the insurance trade between the United States and its European partners, according to industry experts.

This was the assessment from a group of industry experts speaking during a panel discussion sponsored by the American Insurance Association at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) meeting here.

The theme of the meeting, "Global Insurance Regulation–Assessing the New Frontier," was kicked off by Dave Snyder, vice president and associate general counsel for the AIA, who noted that the amount of insurance trade between the United States and the rest of the world–over $100 billion, of which the United States accounts for $40 billion in property and casualty alone–makes ironing out regulatory issues between parties critical.

He said the creation of the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) is a major accomplishment toward this goal.

George Brady, international counsel for the NAIC, referred to the (FIO) as "our friend," saying it is a great opportunity to solve differences in regulatory issues between foreign markets. The major concern he expressed was that constant vigilance needs to be paid to regulators mixing the need for financial oversight of the banking industry with insurance, and that the two sectors remain exclusive of one another.

Yoshihiro Kawai, secretary general for the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), noted that with all the lessons learned from the financial crisis, one thing that needs to be developed is a common regulatory language between Europe and the United States. He said the issue goes beyond the method of communication to the language of communication that he said is "fundamental to cooperation between global markets."

One major bone of contention both Mr. Snyder and Mr. Brady noted is that the United States has not been granted equivalency in the eyes of European regulators because of differences in the systems. These differences primarily concern the lack of continuity in the U.S. regulatory system.

Mr. Snyder acknowledged that a lot of work needs to be done between the two parties, saying that the work is ongoing but difficult.

"We are fixing a plane as we are flying in it," he said.