Regulation/Legislation

Insurance trade organizations said they were successful in fending off proposals to further increase assessments on carriers as part of the proposed New York State budget that state leaders agreed on over the weekend.

In the midst of our worst economic crisis since The Great Depression, everyone is eager to choose one target as the scapegoat for the entire financial mess. Not surprisingly, most are pinning a good part of the blame on AIG

Establishing a national regulator responsible for overseeing solvency and insurance pricing and products would help fix the "critical shortcomings" in the property-casualty insurance industry's current state-based regulatory structure, a report says.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's cautious statements of support for an optional federal charter for insurers is provoking reactions pro and con from property-casualty insurance company trade groups.

A lawyer for American International Group told a Connecticut legislative committee yesterday that attempts to cancel controversial AIG Financial Products unit bonuses would cause marketplace confusion.

Insurers are not currently contesting directors and officers' legal defense claims related to the Bernard Madoff pyramid scheme, but carriers are examining proceedings to see if they can stop payments, legal experts said.