NAIC (E) Committee Chair Speaks on Panel at EIOPA Conference 2024
On Nov. 21, 2024, Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner and NAIC Financial Condition (E) Committee Chair Nathan Houdek participated on a panel at the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) Conference 2024 in Frankfurt, during which he discussed global trends in insurance supervision. He was joined by Shigeru Ariizumi, chair of the IAIS Executive Committee and vice minister for international affairs at the Financial Services Agency of Japan, as well as Petra Hielkema, EIOPA chair.
In his comments, Commissioner Houdek discussed the macroeconomic environment and its effects on insurance markets and insurance supervision. He highlighted insurers’ increased investments in alternative assets, as well as the recent influx of private equity into the sector and the efforts of U.S. insurance supervisors to adapt to the new shifts.
Commissioner Houdek also discussed the affordability and availability of insurance in the U.S. He highlighted state insurance supervisors’ National Climate Strategy for Insurance, which was adopted in April, and its strategies for closing the affordability/availability gap and creating a more robust market in the U.S. This includes the Property & Casualty Market Intelligence Data Call, which will provide state insurance supervisors with ZIP-code level information about their jurisdictions and assist them in understanding how coverages and deductibles have impacted affordability and availability challenges.
Finally, Commissioner Houdek welcomed the successful conclusion of the IAIS process, which determined that the Aggregation Method (AM) provides a basis for implementation in the U.S. of the Insurance Capital Standard (ICS) to produce comparable outcomes. He noted that as work transitions into implementation, the NAIC will work domestically on its approach to the AM as the U.S. implementation of the ICS and that collaboration and coordination will continue with international counterparts as they adapt the ICS to their respective jurisdictional approaches and as the IAIS works on developing an appropriate implementation assessment framework.
(Top: L-R: IAIS Executive Committee Chair Shigeru Ariizumi, EIOPA Chair Petra Hielkema, and Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner and NAIC Financial Condition (E) Committee Chair Nathan Houdek)
About the National Association of Insurance Commissioners
As part of our state-based system of insurance regulation in the United States, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) provides expertise, data, and analysis for insurance commissioners to effectively regulate the industry and protect consumers. The U.S. standard-setting organization is governed by the chief insurance regulators from the 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories. Through the NAIC, state insurance regulators establish standards and best practices, conduct peer reviews, and coordinate regulatory oversight. NAIC staff supports these efforts and represents the collective views of state regulators domestically and internationally.