Massachusetts GA Seeks Executive Director

The Massachusetts Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association (MLHGA) is seeking candidates for its Executive Director position. The current Executive Director, Bill Fisher, will be retiring effective December 31, 2026, following a long and distinguished tenure with the association.

MLHGA is seeking an experienced leader with expertise in insurance products and regulation, insurer insolvencies, and/or guaranty association operations. The preferred start date for the selected candidate is September 2026.

Interested parties should contact MLHGA Board Chair John Deitelbaum at [email protected].

Federal Updates

The comment period for the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s (FSOC) proposed rule regarding the authority to require supervision and regulation of certain nonbank financial companies closed on May 14, 2026. FSOC received several industry comment letters from organizations including the ACLI, the American Investment Council, the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA), BlackRock, the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, the Industry Coalition, the Institute of International Finance, and the Joint Trades.

In advance of the June 1 deadline for submitting comments on the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed rule for alternative assets in 401(k)s, the DOL received nearly 37,000 public comments. Many express concerns regarding a lack of transparency with private equity and cryptocurrency.

NAIC Updates

The Statutory Accounting Principles Working Group (SAPWG) met on May 18, 2026. Here are the major takeaways from the call:

Adopted changes to SSAP No. 1 – Accounting Policies, Risks & Uncertainties and Other Disclosures to add the following restricted asset categories: (1) collateral assets received and on balance sheet; (2) assets under modco reinsurance agreements; and (3) assets held under funds withheld reinsurance agreements. This will ensure that SSAP 1 categories are consistent with the recently adopted changes to Note 5. Notably, the working group deferred action on removing the restricted asset code column in the investment schedules. The ACLI supports the removal of these codes; Maryland (the only state to comment on the proposal) supports retaining the codes. Kevin Clark (IA) explained that he would like to have additional conversations about this issue.

Adopted Item 2026-01, which revises SSAP 52 – Deposit-Type Contracts to add detailed disclosures for funding agreement–backed notes (FABNs) and other funding agreement–backed structures. NAIC staff incorporated most of the comments from interested parties on the initial proposal.

Adopted Item 2025-13, which contains an issue paper detailing historical discussions and conclusions from the development of guidance for residential mortgage loans held in qualifying statutory trusts. The working group did not receive any comments on this item.

Re-exposed Item 2026-02 until June 22, which updates guidance for the valuation of liabilities for a funds withheld arrangement (for life and health companies). The ACLI suggested that the original language would not be appropriate for certain funds withheld structures, and NAIC staff revised the initial proposal. Clark suggested that there is not a pressing need to complete this work for year-end 2026 reporting, so SAPWG may need to work with the Blanks Working Group to push back the current effective date.

Re-exposed the draft SSAP and Issue Paper related to Asset Liability Matching Derivatives until June 22. The revised exposure includes transition guidance proposed by interested parties/ACLI, which allows for surplus neutrality (taking the current unrealized impact to realized), with a specified treatment on how to eliminate the previously recognized fair value changes to the reported derivative. This item constitutes a new standard that has the potential to alter the accounting for many derivatives. Any changes likely will coincide with the broader set of interest maintenance reserve (IMR) changes.

Exposed the following items until June 22:

• Item 2026-05, which would clarify restricted asset reporting for securities lending transactions.
• Item 2026-06, which would eliminate the disclosure exclusion for “equity method investments” from the aggregate disclosure on financial instruments captured in SSAP No. 100 – Fair Value. With this current scope exclusion, investments in the scope of SSAP No. 48 – Joint Ventures, Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies and investments in the scope of SSAP No. 97 – Investments in Subsidiary, Controlled and Affiliated Entities, which are reported under an equity method, are not being captured (note with the exposure of this agenda item, comments are requested on the other disclosures in SSAP No. 100, particularly the disclosures limited to items measured and reported at fair value, how those disclosures are utilized by regulators, and if further revisions would provide enhanced benefits to regulators).
• Item 2026-07, which provides guidance in response to the Life RBC Working Group’s referral related to asset valuation reserve (AVR) equity reporting lines for subsidiary, controlled, or affiliated common stock.

The ERISA and Alternative Health Coverage Working Group met briefly on May 18 to review the May 11 revisions to the ERISA Preemption and State PBM Laws guidance document. Comments are due June 18.

The Senior Issues Task Force met on May 21 to discuss the impact of state adoption of a Birthday Rule in the Medicare Supplemental insurance market. While there is no uniform definition, a Birthday Rule generally allows for guaranteed issuance of MedSup plans during various open enrollment periods to Medicare beneficiaries after their initial Medicare entitlement date. Industry marketing representatives from AmeriLife and Med Solutions, which market MedSup plans for multiple carriers, presented on MedSup market trends and challenges; state-specific policies and impacts (including Minnesota carriers’ ability to add a premium surcharge for Birthday Rule enrollees); and potential product solutions, such as approving a high-deductible Plan G plan paired with a hospital indemnity policy or scrutinizing materially lower rates for newly introduced MedSup plans. The task force did not discuss next steps.

On May 20, the Market Conduct Examination (MCE) Guidelines Working Group exposed the draft Cybersecurity Response Planning Coordination Framework until June 22. The framework aims to centralize regulators’ notices and responses to cybersecurity events, assign a “lead regulator” for each event, and outline procedures for making a recommendation to NAIC committees for application of the Framework dependent on the event impact. In review of its 2026 work plan, the working group:

• Noted the PBM Working Group’s development and adoption of a new Pharmacy Benefit Management chapter of the Market Regulation Handbook. The MCE Guidelines Working Group will form a group of subject matter experts and begin reviewing soon.
• Announced plans to re-expose the revised travel insurance chapter at an upcoming meeting.
• Intends to continue coordinating with the Innovation, Cybersecurity, and Technology (H) Committee to develop guidance for oversight of regulated entities’ use of consumer data, algorithms, and artificial intelligence.

The MCAS Blanks Working Group met on May 21 to discuss the remaining items from its May 7 meeting and took the following action:

• Adopted the LTC MCAS Data Call and Definitions, which NAIC staff prepared to reflect the recently adopted changes to the blanks. The document will now be sent to the D Committee for consideration.
• Adopted the LTC MCAS Blank Data Elements, with one minor edit to remove data element 40 (number of policies terminated due to nonpayment) and retain data element 39 (number of lapses) due to the duplicative requests.

International Developments

On May 19, 2026, the UK Financial Services Regulatory Initiatives Forum published the 10th edition of the Regulatory Initiatives Grid. The Grid identifies a comprehensive list of planned regulatory initiatives across the UK financial sector over the next two years, detailing timelines, responsible authorities, and expected impacts on firms.

The Forum is made up of nine UK regulatory bodies, including the Bank of England, Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), HM Treasury, and others; of the 135 live initiatives featured in the Grid, approximately one-third are jointly led, as authorities continue to collaborate and consolidate requirements to minimize duplicative requests. Some of the relevant developments include:

• FundedRe Consultation (CP8/26): The PRA is proposing targeted changes to the prudential treatment of funded reinsurance under Solvency UK on the basis that the current treatment does not appropriately reflect the underlying risks and is not aligned to that of economically similar assets; the Policy Statement is expected in H1 2027, with implementation on July 1, 2027.
• DyGIST 2026: The PRA is running a new format Dynamic General Insurance Stress Test, simulating sequential adverse events over a short period, to assess insurers’ solvency and liquidity resilience, with the live exercise underway and aggregate results expected by year-end 2026.
• Solvency II Liquidity Reporting Requirements: The PRA has introduced new reporting requirements targeting insurance firms with material liquidity exposures (i.e., derivatives, securities lending, repurchasing agreements), with implementation set for September 30, 2026.
• Private Markets SWES Exercise: The Bank of England will publish stress scenarios and templates in June 2026 for a System-Wide Exploratory Scenario exercise examining how banks and nonbank financial institutions (NBFIs) active in private markets behave in a downturn and whether their interactions can amplify systemic stress, with a final report in 2027.
• UK Solvency II Reporting & Disclosure: The PRA has published proposed limited changes to the Solvency II reporting framework to address post-implementation feedback, with a Policy Statement expected early in the third quarter of 2026 and implementation by year-end.
• Simplifying the Insurance Rules: The FCA plans further amendments to insurance rules to better balance consumer protection and competitiveness, including applying the rules to non-UK business, with a consultation paper due in the second quarter of 2026 and a Policy Statement in the fourth quarter.
• Insurance Third-Country Branches: The PRA will publish a Policy Statement, expected in the second quarter of 2026, streamlining the policy framework, clarifying expectations for branches, and increasing the indicative subsidiarization threshold for insurance third-country branches.
• Holistic Framework Initiatives: The PRA is progressing four related workstreams under the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) Holistic Framework for in-scope insurers: a regular annual global monitoring exercise, requirements to report liquidity management plans, expectations to develop recovery plans, and development of resolution plans.
• Insurance Special Purpose Vehicles: The PRA will continue working with HM Treasury on further reforms to the insurance special purpose vehicle (ISPV) regulatory and legislative frameworks to support an internationally competitive sector, with industry engagement expected in the third quarter of 2026 and a consultation to follow legislative changes.
• Enhancing Resilience of the Gilt Repo Market: Following an April 2026 feedback statement, the Bank of England is exploring reforms to enhance the resilience of liquidity provision in stress, including greater adoption of central clearing, margining in the non-centrally cleared gilt repo market, and monitoring risks from leverage NBFI intermediation, with a comprehensive update and potential policy proposals expected in early 2027.
• Liquidity Risk Management in Funds: The FCA is implementing International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and Financial Stability Board (FSB) guidance on fund liquidity risk management, with a further consultation on retail funds investing in illiquid assets expected in H2 2026.

On May 19, the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) announced two senior leadership appointments: Mesheiah Keane as Chief Operating Officer (previously serving as the Chief Human Resources Officer) and Graham Collier as Chief Technology Officer (previously the Global Head of SaaS Operations at FlexTrade). Collier is expected to enhance the BMA’s technology and AI capabilities as it moves into the next phase of its digital transformation strategy.