Legal Seminar to Discuss Coverage of Catastrophic Events
NOLHGA's 14th Annual Legal Seminar will feature a panel discussion exploring several types of extraordinary or catastrophic issues confronting the insurance industry today, including avian flu risk, terrorism, major earthquakes, and major hurricanes. Addressing these issues will be Edward T. Collins, managing counsel for Allstate Corporation and national director of www.protectingamerica.org; Franklin W. Nutter, president of the Reinsurance Association of America; and Max J. Rudolph, vice president and actuary for Mutual of Omaha.
NOLHGA's 14th Annual Legal Seminar will be held on August 3 and 4, 2006, at The Renaissance Harborplace Hotel in Baltimore, Md. (an MPC meeting will be held on August 1 and 2). A preliminary agenda and registration materials are available on the meeting Web page. Registration brochures for the Legal Seminar should be mailed next week.
Staff Contact - States General Life Insurance Company (Tex.)Early Access Application Filed
On June 7, 2006, the special deputy receiver for States General filed an application for approval of early access to affected guaranty associations in the amount of $955,000. The application is scheduled on the special master's docket for June 26. Assuming the application is approved, the distribution is expected to be released within 15 to 17 days following that approval.
The filing of this application implements a new process for early access distributions in Texas insolvencies, as defined in the new Texas Liquidation Act that went into effect in September 2005. An electronic copy of the application is being sent to all affected guaranty associations, along with a memorandum from task force counsel providing a summary and explanation of the new Texas procedures. Paper copies of these materials will be available upon request.
Task Force Chair - Tad Rhodes; Staff Contact - Joni ForsytheDelaware Considers Amendments to Insurer Receivership Laws
On June 6, 2006, Senate Bill 326 was introduced into the Delaware General Assembly to update and amend Delaware's insurance receivership laws. The bill is based in large part on the Insurer Receivership Model Act adopted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) in December 2005. It was sponsored by Sen. Patricia Blevins and has been assigned to the Senate Insurance and Elections Committee. Rep. Donna Stone, chair of the House Economic Development/Banking and Insurance Committee, is listed as an additional sponsor.
A copy of the bill, as introduced, can be found on the Delaware State Legislature Web site and can be accessed here. The Delaware legislature is in session through June 30.
Staff Contact - Joni ForsytheNAIC Considers Changes to Procedures for Adopting New State Accreditation Standards
The NAIC has released a redlined draft of proposed changes to the NAIC's procedures for the adoption of model laws, regulations, and state accreditation standards. Key features of the proposed changes include a reduction of the comment period to 30 days, reduction of the exposure period for proposed standards from two years to one, and guidance for incorporating "substantially similar" as a measure for testing compliance with standards relating to NAIC model laws. The proposed changes will be discussed by the Financial Regulation Standards and Accreditation (F) Committee on June 10, 2006, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. in conjunction with the NAIC Summer National Meeting in Washington, D.C. A copy of the proposed changes can be obtained by contacting Sean McKenna.
On a related matter, the NAIC's Receivership Law and Intergovernmental Working Group will be meeting to discuss, among other things, the working group's draft and recommendations for expanding the state financial accreditation requirements to include a new standard requiring states to adopt receivership statutes conforming to the Insurer Receivership Model Act adopted by the NAIC in December 2005. That meeting is scheduled for June 10 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Staff Contact - Joni Forsythe