The National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) has composed a report examining the insurance industry’s potential to aid in filling the infrastructure investment gap.
The NAIC said its Center for Insurance Policy & Research (CIPR) and Capital Markets Bureau recently released findings from the report, Can Insurance Company Investments Help Fill the Infrastructure Gap?
Per the NAIC, the nation earned a C- on the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2021 Report Card on American Infrastructure — acknowledging although there has been progress, a gap remains between infrastructure investment to support continued economic development and what is presently financed.
Additionally, the NAIC cited the ASCE’s estimation that the funding gap would approach $2.6 trillion over the next decade and is projected to cost the country $10 trillion in aggregate forgone gross domestic product and over three million jobs.
According to the NAIC report, total domestic insurance industry exposure to economic infrastructure is $570.5 billion; a uniform infrastructure definition could be used as a basis for discussions around financial investments in infrastructure within the insurance industry; and infrastructure investments possess qualities appealing to insurers, potentially positioning them to make additional infrastructure investments amid the proper circumstance.
The NAIC said the core mission of insurance regulators is to preserve the solvency of regulated insurance companies and protect policyholders.