Post-Brexit Insurance Deal Could Be Fast-Tracked

An agreement that would provide regulatory equivalency for U.K. and U.S. insurers could be fast-tracked for approval after Britain exits the European Union, according to Michael McRaith, the director of the U.S. Federal Insurance Office. U.S. and European Union officials are currently negotiating such a regulatory agreement, and until the U.K. completes its “Brexit,” the covered agreement would also apply to Britain, which is home to the world’s hub for specialty lines of insurance. A separate agreement covering UK and U.S. insurers probably would be needed once Britain goes through with the split.

“Our view is, until the U.K. withdraws from the EU, that we are dealing with the EU,” McRaith told members of the U.S. Treasury’s Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance, which is comprised of state insurance regulators and consumer groups along with many of world’s leading insurance companies, including Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc., American International Group Inc., Lloyds of London and Liberty Mutual Co., and other insurance research and analysis groups.

READ: NAIC, Industry Renew Calls for Equivalency

There are concerns that possible outcomes of covered agreement talks between the U.S. Treasury Department and the European Union could threaten the U.S. system of state-based insurance regulation. PIA strongly supports the Transparent Insurance Standards Act of 2016 (H.R. 5143), which enhances Congress’s oversight of international deliberations relating to insurance standards by requiring the U.S. Treasury Department and Federal Reserve to consult with Congress and state insurance regulators before approving any international insurance standards.