AIRROC’s Carolyn Fahey participated in The Insurance Insider Roundtable with other prominent players in the legacy market. It was held in May, 2018, during the annual IRLA Congress in Brighton, England. The Roundtable was a spirited and enlightening discussion on the current optimism in the legacy market, the impact of Brexit, and the overall outlook and trends for the legacy … [Read more...] about IRLA Legacy Roundtable
Regulatory
Legacy Watershed: Capitalizing on the New Legislative Options for Runoff
New legislation is loosening the tight regulatory knot that’s been wrapped around legacy insurance business in the U.S. Upcoming game-changers include: Key amendments to the Rhode Island Voluntary Restructuring Statute (the ‘Rhode Island Statute’), which, among other amendments (House Bill 8163), would allow (re)insurers to transfer eligible portfolios without requiring … [Read more...] about Legacy Watershed: Capitalizing on the New Legislative Options for Runoff
Corporate Governance
How many times are we going to learn about another corporate misstep? The list of companies making headlines for the wrong reasons never seems to end —Wells Fargo, Volkswagen, Target, Toshiba, Experian, Yahoo, Weinstein, Wynn, Uber—just to name a few. What do all of these companies have in common? A lack of strong corporate governance. Corporate governance can simply be … [Read more...] about Corporate Governance
The Impact of the Tax Reform Act on the Insurance Industry
Touted as the most significant federal tax legislation since 1986, Public Law 115-97 – informally known as the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” (the “TCJA”) – was enacted on December 22, 2017. This article examines the potential impact of several provisions of the TCJA on the insurance industry. The changes in the TCJA to domestic corporate tax provisions, including the corporate tax … [Read more...] about The Impact of the Tax Reform Act on the Insurance Industry
Results Are In… AIRROC Co-Sponsors First PwC Global Insurance Runoff Survey
In January 2018, we launched the eleventh edition of our run- off survey, in conjunction with both IRLA and, for the first time, AIRROC. Our survey was expanded to account for the worldwide nature of the run-off market and estimated the value of the global non-life run-off market to be at least US$730bn. It is no shock that the U.S. dominates the global market by value and, by … [Read more...] about Results Are In… AIRROC Co-Sponsors First PwC Global Insurance Runoff Survey
The Legacy Market: Anticipation. Excitement. Commitment. Patience. That Order.
In the previous three articles, we took a journey that would be a dream if it were a holiday itinerary: Europe and its uniform legal and regulatory framework for portfolio transfers; then Europe met the U.S., which with small but steady steps is trying to develop its own system for legal finality and insurance business transfers; and finally, we focused on Rhode Island, … [Read more...] about The Legacy Market: Anticipation. Excitement. Commitment. Patience. That Order.
Insurance Business Transfer Statutes
A panel comprised of Eleni Iacovides of DARAG, Vincent Laurenzano and Bernhardt Nadell of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, Jim Wrynn of FTI Consulting, and Frank Schmid of AIG discussed the various statutory and regulatory provisions governing insurance business transfers. The panel addressed traditional statutory and regulatory procedures for handling impaired and insolvent … [Read more...] about Insurance Business Transfer Statutes
Eyeballing Excellence: Establishing and Executing an Effective Watch List Process/Policy
A well-executed watch list process can significantly benefit P&C insurance companies. From the initial establishment of the process, which includes identifying which exposures and claims to include, to the ongoing review of the process as new exposures and claim types emerge, actuarial, claims, and underwriting departments significantly impact the success of a watch list … [Read more...] about Eyeballing Excellence: Establishing and Executing an Effective Watch List Process/Policy
The Legacy Market: Resistance. Protection. Equivalence. Vision. That Order.
In The Legacy Market article that ran in the Spring 2017 issue, we discussed the various exit and capital release tools available to the European insurance market with each providing different degrees of finality and capital relief. The second Legacy Market article which ran in the Fall issue, discussed the first finality statute available in the U.S. and steps taken by other … [Read more...] about The Legacy Market: Resistance. Protection. Equivalence. Vision. That Order.
Separate but Not Equal
Recent developments indicate that U.S. regulators are responding to these market realities. In 2015, Rhode Island passed regulations providing for “insurance business transfers” for commercial P&C runoff business. The Rhode Island Insurance Business Transfer (RI IBT) is modeled on the U.K.’s Part VII Transfer that has been British law for almost 20 years and has resulted in … [Read more...] about Separate but Not Equal
The Legacy Market: Strength. Stability. Transparency. Certainty. That Order.
In a world where “strong and stable” equates to weak and uncertain, the European legacy market remains strong and stable (as defined by the Oxford Dictionary), transparent, and continues to deliver Certainty (the capital C is not a typo!) and a cleaner, leaner and stronger balance sheet to each carrier that engages in the process through the implementation of the most … [Read more...] about The Legacy Market: Strength. Stability. Transparency. Certainty. That Order.
Twisting in the Wind: Covered Agreement Dangling by Uncertainty and Politics
On January 13, 2017, the United States and the European Union (EU) concluded negotiations on the first insurance covered agreement after this novel multilateral international agreement, envisioned and promoted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) and the U.S. state insurance regulators who are its members, was authorized by Title V of the Dodd-Frank … [Read more...] about Twisting in the Wind: Covered Agreement Dangling by Uncertainty and Politics
USF&G v. American Re Settles
What does that mean? If rumors are to be believed (and there is no reason to think that they should not be), the long running dispute of United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. American ReInsurance Co. (“USF&G v. Am Re”) settled with trial looming. As many will remember, in February 2013, the New York Court of Appeals (the state’s highest court) issued an important … [Read more...] about USF&G v. American Re Settles
The Legacy Market: Innovation. Flexibility. Creativity. Capital Appeal. That Order.
The insurance industry has shown through the years that it has a remarkable ability to respond to challenges, and to adopt and adapt, whether this relates to a new financial or regulatory framework or to respond to demands for new products and solutions. One of the biggest challenges that the European industry faced in recent years was the implementation of Solvency II, the … [Read more...] about The Legacy Market: Innovation. Flexibility. Creativity. Capital Appeal. That Order.
Is Reg. 68 Good for the Industry? A Chat with Dwyer, Broccoli and Brennan
At the Commutation & Networking Forum in October, 2016, the authors sat down with Elizabeth Dwyer, Jack Broccoli and Christopher Brennan to talk about the Rhode Island statute. Ms. Dwyer is the Rhode Island Superintendent of Banking and Insurance in the Department of Business Regulation. Jack Broccoli is in the Rhode Island Department of Banking and Insurance and … [Read more...] about Is Reg. 68 Good for the Industry? A Chat with Dwyer, Broccoli and Brennan
Rhode Island Regulation 68: Voluntary Restructuring of Solvent Insurers Act
Recently Rhode Island revised its Voluntary Restructuring of Solvent Insurers Act as implemented by DBR Regulation 68. This is, in many respects, modeled after the UK’s Part VII Transaction, which, subject to court approval, enables companies to transfer/novate a book of business (and divest itself of all residual liability), to another unrelated insurer that assumes all … [Read more...] about Rhode Island Regulation 68: Voluntary Restructuring of Solvent Insurers Act
Brexit Implications for the Runoff Business: A Macroeconomic Perspective
On June 23, 2016, the United Kingdom held a referendum on membership in the European Union (EU), which the country had joined in 1973. As a surprise to many, the referendum resulted in a majority favoring an exit. The Brexit vote prompted a change in political leadership in the following month, with Theresa May being appointed Prime Minister. On March 29, 2017, the United … [Read more...] about Brexit Implications for the Runoff Business: A Macroeconomic Perspective
Does Covered Mean Equal? EU and U.S. Bilateral Agreement on Insurance and Reinsurance
On January 13, 2017, the Secretary of the Treasury (“Treasury”), the U.S. Trade Representative (“USTR”) and the European Union (“EU”) took the industry and regulators alike by surprise when they issued a press release announcing the completion of negotiations and the finalization of the “Bilateral Agreement Between the European Union and the United States of America on … [Read more...] about Does Covered Mean Equal? EU and U.S. Bilateral Agreement on Insurance and Reinsurance
Can U.S. Insurance Companies Afford Not to Restructure?
Part 3: The case for expanding the Rhode Island Insurance Business Transfer to other lines of business Current global market conditions have increased pressure on business leaders to focus on efficient capital management with an eye towards long-term trends. Rhode Island’s amendments to Insurance Regulation 68 are the first step in providing greater flexibility to the U.S. … [Read more...] about Can U.S. Insurance Companies Afford Not to Restructure?
Cybersecurity: What are insurance entities required to do?
While US regulators attempt to require insurers to be more aggressive in protecting consumer data from cyber attacks, in August 2016 the NAIC’S Cybersecurity Task Force released an amended version of its draft Insurance Data Security Model Law. The NAIC model law proposes to establish “uniform” standards for data security and investigations, in addition to how to notify about … [Read more...] about Cybersecurity: What are insurance entities required to do?
