The meeting grew out of a smaller NAIC leadership meeting with President Obama on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's rollout issues, to which the state regulators added flood insurance issues in states like Louisiana and the frustrations with the Federal Insurance Office.

Lew, according to a Treasury statement, said it was important to have an insurance framework that safeguards the financial system and Treasury's interest in identifying areas for agreement and common objectives.

Florida Insurance Commissioner and NAIC past President Kevin McCarty said the meeting went "very well" and Lew was supportive of state-based regulation. McCarty said it was the start of a good relationship with Treasury.

At the meeting, Lew supported the international role of FIO, as it is authorized by statute to coordinate federal efforts and develop federal policy on prudential aspects of international insurance matters, including representing the United States, as appropriate, in the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) and assisting the secretary in negotiating covered agreements.

Lew also discussed Treasury fostering "a race to the top" internationally and underscored the U.S. government's continued focus on higher global standards, a clear reference to the global capital standard handed down to global insurance supervisors by the G-20's Financial Stability Board (FSB).

The NAIC raised the issue of a lack of state regulatory membership on the FSB, which is handing down key policy mandates to the IAIS and banking supervisory bodies. Treasury, along with the SEC and the Federal Reserve, are the only U.S. members of the FSB.

The NAIC was expected to try to persuade Treasury to include the state insurance regulators in the FSB dialogue given that matters that concern insurance regulation continue to percolate at that high level. However, this is not something Treasury can likely do unilaterally although it seemed the NAIC may expect it going forward from its statement.

"We are extremely pleased with the Secretary's statement of strong support for the state-based regulatory system. The focus of the meeting was on significant international developments, including the ongoing EU/U.S. dialogue and Solvency II, the inclusion of state regulators in the work of the (FSB), and efforts to develop a global capital standard," said Louisiana Insurance Commissioner and NAIC President Jim Donelon in a statement.

Lew, according to the Treasury summary, emphasized that Treasury and state regulators should work together to modernize the system of insurance regulation and continue engagement around these issues.

Nelson, in his press statement, said the NAIC looks forward to a continued dialogue on issues of mutual interest with the Treasury Department "that strengthens our state-based system of regulation."

Captives

Rhode Island Insurance and Banking Superintendent Joe Torti III noted during the Financial Condition Committee meeting that corporate governance of insurance companies and use of captive insurers were singled out in the FIO report and that the NAIC intends to continue to address those issues in the coming year.

The Treasury's Office of Financial Research (OFR), in its annual report on threats to stability, also singled out captives with regard to major financial data gaps.

OFR noted that state-insurance regulators, through the NAIC, have been exploring options for increasing transparency in the area.

"Although there are several ways to achieve this, one option could be to require captive insurers to submit public financial filings," the OFR report stated.

Torti told NU he has always been for disclosure, and included such thoughts in the recommendations of the NAIC white paper he helped usher in. The recommendations are before the Principles-Based Reserving Implementation (PBR) Task Force now, which Torti chairs.

"Disclosure is essential, but is not enough to win the day," said New York Department of Financial Services Superintendent Ben Lawsky about the OFR report.

New York is still for a moratorium on these types of transactions, Lawsky affirmed, and a deputy noted companies can expect greater disclosure requirements in the state in the coming year