PIA Releases Testimony for Three Congressional Hearings

PIA National has released testimony for three congressional hearings on insurance matters held over three days this week on Capitol Hill.

On Tuesday, April 28, the Senate Banking Committee held a hearing entitled, "The State of the Insurance Industry and Insurance Regulation." Then, on Wednesday, April 29, the House Financial Services Committee Housing and Insurance subcommittee scheduled a hearing entitled "The Impact of International Regulatory Standards on the Competitiveness of U.S. Insurers." Finally, a hearing was set for Thursday, April 30, in the Senate Banking Committee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment subcommittee on "Examining Insurance Capital Rules and FSOC Process."

PIA's testimony states our support of a modernized state-based insurance system and opposition to any federal regulation or international standards that would destabilize or supplant state-based regulations. In addition, PIA comments in support of transparency, especially by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), which recently voted to close many of its meetings to stakeholders.

PIA expresses concern with the level of transparency in the decision-making process of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), as it has the power to designate "systemically important financial institutions" (SIFIs). PIA also cautioned against applying bank-centric standards to insurance companies.

"While banks and other financial institutions profit by actively seeking out risk, insurance companies profit by insuring against risk. Therefore, it is not prudent to attempt to apply bank centric standards to insurance entities, as they are completely different," the PIA testimony states.

Full text of PIA testimony to:
Senate Banking Committee (Apr. 28, 2015)
House Financial Services Committee (Apr. 29, 2015)
Senate Banking Committee (Apr. 30, 2015)