Insurance representatives from the U.S. and Europe met in Washington, D.C., for two days earlier this month, as part of the ongoing dialogue concerning challenges with international insurance regulation.

David Snyder

Regulatory change is being driven by developments outside the U.S., according to David Snyder, vice president and associate general counsel for the American Insurance Association (AIA). The U.S. system needs to be judged to the equivalent of the European regulatory system if U.S. companies are to be treated equally with European companies in Europe, Snyder told IFA.

More than 30 representatives from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) met March 2 to discuss topics such as solvency modernization and group supervision, as well as systemic risk and financial stability, the NAIC reported.

U.S. policy-makers and industry representatives joined discussions at the Transatlantic Insurance Symposium, hosted at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce March 3. Information was exchanged regarding the U.S. and EU insurance regulatory frameworks.

The NAIC said topics included the EU’s Solvency II reforms, the U.S. Solvency Modernization Initiative, and implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Regulators should focus on the need for enhanced international supervisory coordination and increased convergence to international standards, according to Susan E. Voss, NAIC President and Iowa’s insurance commissioner.

“There are a lot of parallels between the EU system and our national system of state-based regulation,” Voss said in a statement. “Both benefit from a high level of coordination while remaining flexible to the needs of individual markets. Continued engagement is key to ensuring consumer protections and viable insurance markets both in the US and abroad.”

The AIA, a co-sponsor of the March 3 symposium, said it asked the NAIC to support meaningful reforms aimed at eliminating inefficient global regulation of property-casualty insurers.

Foreign barriers to trade cost U.S. property-casualty insurers a loss of $40 billion in premiums annually, according to the United States International Trade Commission’s 2009 report.

“That’s why it is very important for U.S. and EU regulators to work together to come up with an efficient regulatory system that will assist us in gaining increased market access abroad,” Snyder told IFA. “It’s very important not to let regulations be used by other countries to prevent our companies from expanding abroad, because our regions are huge export insurance services. Regulation should be as efficient as possible, provide adequate opportunity for insurance companies to have input before regulation is final, and should need a cost-benefit analysis to ensure that the regulation achieves more than it costs.”

U.S. and EU regulators are scheduled to reconvene in September, according to Snyder.