The Obama Administration
would exclude most forms of insurance from the
jurisdiction of a new federal agency proposed to
regulate how financial institutions deal with
consumers.
On June 30, the U.S. Treasury Dept. released a
bill
that would create a federal Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA)
that would have supervisory authority over most consumer financial
services, including leasing and real estate settlement activities, and
related data processing.
The bill explicitly states, however, that
the CFPA "shall not define engaging in the business of insurance as a
financial activity, other than with respect to credit insurance,
mortgage insurance, or title insurance."
The bill has been referred to the U.S. House
Financial Services Committee.
As of Oct. 1, 2009, companies insuring condominium
associations in Connecticut can no longer exclude coverage for losses
caused by fire and other perils arising from certified acts of
terrorism.
A new
law recently signed by Gov. Jodi Rell removes a terrorism exemption
to Connecticut's standard fire policy statute as it applies to policies
covering condominium associations.
As a result of this change, AAIS will be filing
amendments to its terrorism rules eliminating the option to reject
coverage for certified terrorism losses for these policies. AAIS
affiliates in affected lines should be prepared to comply with this
requirement by Oct. 1, even if the rule filings have not yet been
reviewed and approved.
In addition, AAIS will be filing a revised
amendatory endorsement under its Homeowners Program in Connecticut.
The revised amendatory endorsement will reflect a
provision in the new law reducing the number of days allowed for payment
of a loss. Effective Oct. 1, a homeowners carrier must pay a loss within
30 days after receipt of a proof of loss and agreement on the total
amount of the loss.
Other AAIS programs subject to Connecticut's
standard fire policy statute already have a 30-day limit for this
provision.
Under an arrangement with the Reinsurance
Association of America (RAA), staff from AAIS member companies can
attend reinsurance education programs at RAA member rates.
The 2009
program lineup includes:
-
Re Contracts: The Art of Designing Reinsurance Contracts and
Programs, July 14-17;
-
Re Underwriting: An Educational Forum for Underwriting
Professionals, July 30;
-
Re Claims: Reinsurance Claims Management, September 24-25; and
-
Re Finance: The ABCs of Financial Reporting & Analysis for
Property/Casualty Insurers and Reinsurers, October 7-8.
All of
these events are scheduled to be held in New York City.
For information about each program, or to register, go to
www.reinsurance.org/seminars. When registering, choose "member" as
your "registrant type" to get the tuition discount.
