An agreement between the United States and European Commission that seeks to put U.S. insurers in Europe on equal footing with their European counterparts has drawn scrutiny from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
The covered agreement sets mutual acknowledgement of prudential supervision in the E.U. and United States. The agreement was negotiated by the U.S. Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office (FIO) and the United States Trade Representative (USTR) with foreign officials.
National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) – which represents regulators from all 50 states – are reviewing the agreement to ensure consumers are protected and U.S. companies are not competitively disadvantaged.
“After more than a year of secret meetings it’s disappointing that in the waning days of the administration we are finally seeing the details of what purports to be a covered agreement between the U.S. and EU,” said Ted Nickel, NAIC president and Wisconsin insurance commissioner.
Nickel added, “As most state regulators were not allowed to participate in the process, the NAIC is coordinating a thorough review of the agreement to ensure consumer protections are not compromised through the preemption of state law, and we encourage Congress to do the same. Of great concern is the potential to use this agreement as a backdoor to force foreign regulations on U.S. companies.”
Next, the accord will be submitted by the FIO USTR to four committees – House Financial Services, House Ways and Means, Senate Banking and Senate Finance – for authorization on a day when all committees are in session. It will become effective 90 days after approved by those committees.