With an increasingly global marketplace and the growing importance of managing risks globally, the NAIC and its members have a long-term interest in promoting sound insurance regulation and stable markets around the world. Building and strengthening relationships is an opportunity to learn from our international colleagues and ensure that our supervision here remains strong and relevant for internationally active firms.
Through the International Insurance Relations (G) Committee, the NAIC has a number of bilateral and regional relationships with a focus on addressing key regulatory issues, fostering market access, discussing emerging risks, challenges, and opportunities, and coordinating on International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) policy.
These activities take a variety of forms. In addition to the numerous side meetings state insurance regulators have each year with their international counterparts, the NAIC maintains regular dialogues with key markets, including Japan, the European Union, and Bermuda, in many cases meeting annually on a formal basis. Some of the largest growth markets for U.S. insurers can be found in the Asia-Pacific and Latin America regions, thus the NAIC’s commitment to engagement with these regions as well.
The NAIC's International Fellows Program, created in 2004, has welcomed more than 300 participants in person and another 200 virtually from over 45 countries. The program is offered in two formats: a one-week, high-level virtual session every spring, and in-person every fall. As part of the fall program, visiting regulators learn about the U.S. state-based insurance regulation system by spending 6 weeks at the NAIC and host states. Many of the international regulators who have participated in this program have gone on to take leadership positions in their agencies, ensuring strong ties with state regulators and the NAIC for years to come.
