State and International Insurance Supervisors, Industry Gather at 2024 NAIC International Insurance Forum

May means longer days, lots of baseball, warmer temperatures, and clearer skies (usually) in the nation's capital, but each year, it also brings the NAIC's flagship international event, the International Insurance Forum.

Drawing state and international insurance supervisors, industry representatives, and interested parties, the NAIC's International Insurance Forum takes an in-depth look at the challenges and opportunities facing insurance regulation, providing a variety of viewpoints and insights on issues such as climate risk; cyber/artificial intelligence (AI); diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I); and much more.

This year, NAIC International Insurance Relations (G) Committee Chair and Nebraska Department of Insurance Director Eric Dunning is serving as our emcee. Director Dunning started Day One on Thursday, May 16, by introducing NAIC President and Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Andrew N. Mais to welcome attendees.

Commissioner Mais described this year's Forum as being a "hot ticket" once again, with registration selling out just six days after it opened.

The event embraced the theme for his year as president, as Commissioner Mais noted each topic touches on the need to close protection gaps. He went on to highlight areas such as the NAIC's first-ever National Climate Resilience Strategy for Insurance, technology's potential to aid consumers, the importance of strengthening financial literacy, and the NAIC's collaboration with international insurance supervisors, including the ongoing comparability assessment for the Insurance Capital Standard and the Aggregation Method.

"We don't want to just keep up with an evolving world. We want to continue leading the way forward. Together," Commissioner Mais concluded.

NAIC President-Elect and North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread moderated our first panel, as Pina Albo (Chief Executive Officer, Hamilton), Jasmine Jirele (President and Chief Executive Officer, Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America), and Neeti Bhalla Johnson (President, Global Risk Solutions, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company) joined us to share their insights on technology innovations, climate risk, and geopolitics and how these forces are affecting the industry. They also spoke on the “skills gap” within the insurance workforce and the importance of inclusion and championing women leaders.

After a short break, Director Dunning introduced our first keynote speaker of the 2024 Forum, Shigeru Ariizumi, who serves as the Vice Minister for International Affairs at the Financial Services Agency of Japan and chairs the International Association of Insurance Supervisors' (IAIS) Executive Committee. In his speech, Mr. Ariizumi discussed the core objectives and themes of the IAIS' 2025-2029 Strategic Plan. 

Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services Director Anita G. Fox then moderated our second panel, titled "Are Inclusion Policies Making a Difference? Effects of DE&I on the Insurance Industry." Director Fox, Gerry Cross (Director, Financial Regulation – Policy & Risk, Central Bank of Ireland), Mark Lomas (Head of Culture, Lloyd’s of London), and Chandara K. Phanachone (Director, Insurance Diversity Initiative, California Department of Insurance) examined how DE&I is taking shape at the international level and in individual jurisdictions, which initiatives are working best, and potential next steps for increasing inclusivity.

Following lunch, we hosted NAIC Secretary-Treasurer and Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation Director Elizabeth Kelleher Dwyer and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Sandra L. Thompson for an armchair discussion on property insurance costs and increasing access.

For our third panel, NAIC Vice President and Virginia Bureau of Insurance Commissioner Scott A. White was joined by Craig Swan (Chief Executive Officer, Bermuda Monetary Authority), Ken Johnson (Managing Director, AM Best), Douglas Niemann (Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer, Athene Holding Ltd.), and Pooja Rahman (Chief Risk Officer, Transamerica) for a look at the changing landscape of rising rates, cooling inflation, and fluctuating markets and the effects these forces have on the trends seen in insurers' investment strategies and portfolios.

Next, Dieter Hendrickx (Head, Prudential Policy Insurance, National Bank of Belgium), Raghuveer Vinukollu (Head of Climate Insights & Advisory, Munich Re US), and Amy Chester (Managing Director, Rebuild by Design) joined NAIC Most Recent Past President and Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance Director Chlora Lindley-Myers for a conversation about the evolution of public/private partnerships in developing proactive solutions to addressing climate risks and strengthening resiliency efforts.

AI and machine learning (ML) are hot topics right now, including at our final panel of Day One. Maryland Insurance Administration Commissioner Kathleen A. Birrane, chair of the NAIC's Innovation, Cybersecurity, and Technology (H) Committee, welcomed Petra Hielkema (Chair, European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority), Padma Elmgart (Chief Technology Officer, Global Atlantic Financial Group), and Dr. Zhiyu (Frank) Quan (Assistant Professor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) to discuss the current state of AI/ML oversight and ways these new technologies will create a more effective and streamlined environment in the insurance sector.

As we post this, we're about to get underway on Day Two and are excited for panels on consumer protection and the IAIS' next five-year strategic plan, as well as speeches from the International Monetary Fund's Tobias Adrian and Office of Insurance Commission, Thailand Secretary-General Chuchatr Pramoolpol.