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Reinsurance Regulation

NEW YORK ADOPTS EMERGENCY AMENDMENT TO EXCESS LINES REGULATION

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The New York State Department of Financial Services has, on an emergency basis published in the State Register on August 1, 2012, adopted amendments to Insurance Regulation 41, concerning excess (or surplus) lines insurance. The purpose of the amendment is to implement the changes to the New York insurance code which were adopted in 2011 to conform the law to the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act portion of the Dodd-Frank Act, which addressed certain issues regarding the writing of excess and surplus lines insurance.

This post written by Rollie Goss.

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COMMUTATION AGREEMENTS BETWEEN RELIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY (IN LIQUIDATION) AND THREE REINSURERS APPROVED

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A Pennsylvania court has approved commutation agreements between Reliance Insurance Company (in Liquidation) and reinsurers Connecticut General Life Insurance Company (“Connecticut General”), Phoenix Life Insurance Company (“Phoenix”), and Hannover Rueckversicherung AG and E + S Rueckversicherung AG (“Hanover”), respectively. The Reliance Estate will receive $7,044,565 from Connecticut General and $5,017,408 from Phoenix for commuting obligations on reinsurance policies written through Unicover Managers covering workers’ compensation losses. Hanover will pay $4,790,789 to the Reliance Estate in exchange for commuting liabilities on reinsurance contracts covering various lines of business including accident and health, aviation liability, and D&O liability.

This post written by Ben Seessel.

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NAIC REINSURANCE AND SURPLUS LINES TASK FORCE MEETINGS

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The NAIC has released summaries of the minutes of the meetings of its Reinsurance Task Force and Surplus Lines Task Force, both of which took place on August 13, 2012, during the Summer National Meeting in Atlanta.

The Reinsurance Task Force adopted recommendations regarding accreditation standards, heard status updates on implementation of the revised credit for reinsurance models, approved establishing a subgroup regarding quota share reinsurance contracts, addressed ongoing international reinsurance issues, including US/EU dialogue and activities of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors, heard updates from the Captive and Special Purpose Vehicle Use Subgroup on alternative risk transfer in relation to existing state law, and heard a status update from The Financial Condition Committee regarding ceding reinsurers in receivership.

The Surplus Lines Task Force created a Surplus Lines Requirements Subgroup, to research issues related to eligibility requirements, which were addressed at the meeting.

This post written by John Pitblado.

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SPECIAL FOCUS: THE BENEFITS OF CAT BONDS FOR CEDING INSURERS

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In this Special Focus piece, entitled “The Benefits of Cat Bonds for Ceding Insurers and the Potential for Life and Annuity Risk Bonds,” Rollie Goss compares the relative advantages of catastrophe bonds over traditional reinsurance, as well as the developing market for transfer of life and annuity risks.

This post written by Rollie Goss.

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NAIC GROUP MEETS TO DISCUSS POTENTIALLY ABUSIVE USE OF CAPTIVES

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The NAIC Captive and Special Purpose Vehicle Use Subgroup held a meeting on August 11, 2012 to discuss the Subgroup’s Captives and Special Purpose Vehicles draft White Paper. The Subgroup was formed earlier this year, the draft White Paper explains, to address the broadened use of captives and the potential concern that a “shadow insurance industry is emerging.” The draft White Paper addresses, in some detail, state authority over captives and SPVs, transparency and confidentiality requirements, the types of business and risks ceded to captives and SPVs, capitalization standards, accounting and reporting requirements, credit for reinsurance, and holding company analysis considerations.

A primary concern of the Subgroup is that some captives and SPVs may be being used as a means to avoid statutory accounting rules. The White Paper concludes that, in the transactions the Subgroup reviewed, regulators properly required that transactions made with captives to support economic reserves be backed with investment grade, liquid assets, such that the “net result” of the transactions be that “collectively the ceding insurer and captive have liquid assets supporting GAAP equivalent reserves.” The White Paper also makes recommendations regarding the accounting treatment for XXX and AXXX reserve redundancies, and encourages states with active captive and SPV markets to adopt the NAIC’s Special Purposes Reinsurance Vehicles Model Act, and further suggests that changes might be made to this model act to encourage states to adopt it. Minutes of the August 11 meeting and minutes of prior meetings of the subgroup held by conference call are available for review.

This post written by Ben Seessel.

See our disclaimer.