FIO Director McRaith to Appear at Global Insurance Symposium in Iowa
May 21, 2014 by Jeff Jeffrey
WASHINGTON – Federal Insurance Office Director Michael McRaith was scheduled to make a rare appearance at the Global Insurance Symposium in Des Moines, Iowa, on May 21.
“Changes in international insurance regulation impact all companies at some level. Highlighting the issues surrounding these new regulatory requirements help carriers prepare for the potential impacts and offer international and U.S.-based regulators the chance to share best practices,” the symposium’s hosts said in a statement.
Also scheduled to speak May 21 were Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad; Naruki Mori, assistant commissioner for International Affairs at the Japan Financial Services Agency; Sriram Taranikanti, executive director of the India Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority; and Ben Nelson, chief executive officer of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
McRaith’s most recent public address came during the the Networks Financial Institute’s Insurance Public Policy Summit in Washington.
During the March 12 event, McRaith said the industry and state regulators need to “get past” the idea that the federal government has no role to play in the regulation of insurance. He reiterated the FIO report’s findings that interstate insurance agent and broker licensing, as well as product approval, could be streamlined through federal regulation. The report also recommended Congress create a federal overseer for the mortgage insurance industry (Best’s News Service, March 12, 2014).
He was invited to appear before the New York City Bar Association on April 11 to give a presentation on current issues in insurance regulation. However, McRaith did not attend the event.
(By Jeff Jeffrey, Washington Bureau manager: jeff.jeffrey@ambest.com)