Earlier this month, United States Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chair of the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, urged the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to examine the increasing role of private equity and alternative investment classes in the life insurance market as well as offshore reinsurance. The Senator inquired if private equity and affiliated offshore reinsurers could pose systemic risks and requested that FIO include these topics in upcoming and future annual reports while adding that his committee will host hearings on these topics at an unspecified future date.
Senator Brown’s recent written requests to FIO Director Steven Seitz and NAIC President Dean Cameron follow earlier written requests to each agency back in March. At that time, Senator Brown raised concerns centered on private equity and pension-risk transfer, asking FIO and the NAIC to study the issue and report back to Congress by May 31. Senator Brown’s recent letters are his response to the agencies’ reports.
