Captives

State legislators and regulators are sparring with large insurance companies over whether Congress should create an office within the Treasury Department to monitor insurance activities.

Legislation the House Financial Services Committee will take up Tuesday would, among other provisions, reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program for five years.

The global insurance industry, which has seen several years of pricing increases and profitability, has entered what can best be described as a soft market.

Enactment of the new health care reform law has already spawned fraud schemes by which individuals are seeking to sell bogus policies through 1-800 numbers and by going door-to-door, federal regulators are warning.

At first glance, Senate Banking Committee Chair Christopher Dodd's plan to create an Office of National Insurance, incorporated in his financial regulatory reform bill, might seem harmless.

Enactment of the new health care reform law has spawned fraud schemes by which individuals are seeking to sell bogus policies through 1-800 numbers and by going door-to-door, federal regulators are warning.