Download or read book Regulatory Forbearance in the U S Insurance Industry written by Bo Becker and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper documents the long-run effects of an important reform of capital regulation for U.S. insurance companies in 2009. We show that its design effectively eliminates capital requirements for (non-agency) MBS, implying an aggregate capital relief of over $18bn at the time of the reform. By 2015, 40% of all high-yield assets in the overall fixed-income portfolio are MBS investments. This result is primarily driven by insurers' reduced propensity to sell poorly-rated legacy assets. Using a regression discontinuity framework, we can attribute this behavior to capital requirements. We also provide evidence that the insurance industry, driven by large life insurers, crowds out other investors in the new issuance of (high-yield) MBS post reform. Our findings are consistent with the view that the regulation and supervision of the U.S. insurance sector is influenced by short-term industry interests.
Download or read book Regulatory Forbearance in the Supervision of Property Casualty Insurers in the U S written by Robert W. Klein and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this paper, we discuss our research on the effects of regulatory forbearance on the outcomes for high-risk and distressed property-casualty insurance companies. A fundamental question that has been examined in the extant literature is whether greater regulatory forbearance tends to increase or decrease the costs of insurer insolvencies. This literature has also examined whether regulatory management of insurer receiverships increases the costs of insolvencies under certain conditions. We intend to extend this literature by examining additional measures of regulatory forbearance as well as by employing more current data. Our measures of forbearance will include both formal/public and informal/non-public regulatory actions. Our intent is to estimate how regulatory forbearance and other factors affect outcomes for distressed insurers (i.e., does greater forbearance increase or decrease the likelihood that an insurer will be liquidated?). A review of the data indicates that there are a large number of instances where companies appear to be in financial trouble (e.g., they fall below one or more Risk Based Capital action thresholds) but there is no record of formal/public regulatory interventions with these companies. We surmise that, in many (if not most) cases, these firms are subject to non-public regulatory intervention, but unless the insurer subsequently becomes subject to public regulatory intervention, the non-public regulatory intervention never becomes part of the public record. Therefore, the traditional criteria for classifying “impaired” insurers understates the number of potential impairments and masks the full impact of regulatory intervention. In this paper we provide statistics on impaired and inactive insurance companies for the period 1996-2017. We also present the results of logistic regressions using principal components factors that identify risk factors (latent traits) for impaired insurers in relation to when they were first subject to formal regulatory action for the same data period.
Download or read book Strategic Focus Liability Issuance and Benefits of Multi jurisdictional Regulation in the U S Insurance Industry written by Michael K. McShane and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Essay 1. While the increasing costs of long-term care are placing burdens on state and federal budgets, private long-term care insurance (LTCI) has yet to make a substantial contribution to the financing of long-term care. Many researchers provide rationales for limitations on the private LTCI market, yet some life-health insurers have forged ahead into this relatively new and risky market. We investigate what makes these insurers different by examining determinants of managerial issuance decisions that are justified in the extant research, particularly concentrating on whether managers are following a focus or diversification strategy. Our results indicate that life-health insurers are more likely to expand into a new and risky line of business if they have core skills that are applicable to the new line, which suggests they are following a focus strategy. We also document other factors that make insurers better suited or more likely to increase volume in the LTCI market. These results should be of interest to state regulators as they attempt to expand the private LTCI market to take the tremendous pressure of Medicaid payments for long-term care expenses off government budgets. Our evidence also suggests that participation and volume decisions are made independently in the LTCI market. Essay 2. Debates about state versus federal regulation of the insurance industry are as active and cogent today as ever. Few researchers have rigorously investigated whether the current state-based regulatory system provides benefits that offset the high costs of multi-regulator compliance. In this study, we explore factors that affect the expenses and profitability of life-health insurers with a particular focus on regulatory effects. Our evidence suggests that the increased cost of complying with more regulators is offset by the benefits of greater regulatory oversight, which is consistent with the subsidized monitoring hypothesis. We also find that regulatory separation theory and the regulatory forbearance hypothesis can explain the large number of single-state insurers. Our results should have implications not only for the U.S insurance regulatory debate, but also for transnational political entities as they grapple with analogous multi-versus single-jurisdictional regulatory issues for the globalizing financial services industry.
Download or read book The Future of Insurance Regulation in the United States written by Martin F. Grace and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2009-12-01 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Brookings Institution Press and Georgia State University publication Important changes have buffeted the insurance industry over the past decade. The 1999 repeal of key provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act unleashed a wave of conglomeration in financial services, as bank holding companies acquired insurance and securities businesses and, to a much lesser degree, insurance companies acquired securities firms and banks. Rivalry within the sector has intensified: insurance companies have developed products that compete directly with the offerings of banks and securities firms and vice versa. In addition, the industry has become increasingly global. Against this backdrop, pressure has been building for fundamental changes to the structure of insurance regulation in the United States. Despite several court challenges over the years, insurance continues to be regulated by the states. Many insurance companies view state regulation as an increasing drag on their efficiency and competitiveness and support a federal regulatory system. However, powerful stakeholders, including state officials, state and regional insurance companies, and many insurance agents, oppose federal regulation. As a result, proposals to establish an optional federal charter (OFC) for insurance companies and agents remain mired in fierce debate. The Future of Insurance Regulation in the United States gathers some of the country's leading experts on financial regulation to assess the case for an enhanced federal role in the insurance sector. They pay particular attention to the merits of an OFC and how it might be designed. They also consider the principles that should guide insurance regulatory policies, regardless of the institutional framework, and examine the implications of financial convergence and the internationalization of insurance markets for an optimal regulatory structure. The debate over insurance regulation has only grown in complexity and intensity since the financial crisis began in the fall of 2008. This book will both inform and help to shape those critical discussions. Contributors: John A. Cooke (International Financial Services London), Robert Detlefsen (National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies), Martin F. Grace (Georgia State University), Robert W. Klein (Georgia State University), Robert E. Litan (Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and Brookings Institution), Phil O’Connor (PROactive Strategies), Hal S. Scott (Harvard Law School), Harold D. Skipper (Georgia State University), Peter J. Wallison (American Enterprise Institute).
Download or read book Regulatory Competition and Forbearance written by Michael K. McShane and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Regulatory separation theory indicates that a system with multiple regulators leads to less forbearance and limits producer gains while a model of banking regulation developed by Dell'Ariccia and Marquez (2006) predicts the opposite. Fragmented regulation of the US life insurance industry provides an especially rich environment for testing the effects of regulatory competition. We find positive relations between regulatory competition and profitability measures for this industry, which is consistent with the Dell'Ariccia and Marquez model. Our results have practical implications for the debate over federal versus state regulation of insurance and financial services in the US.
Download or read book The State of the Insurance Industry written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 476 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Perspectives on Modernizing Insurance Regulation written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Impact of International Regulatory Standards on the Competitiveness of U S Insurers written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Financial Services. Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Insurance Regulation Reform written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Insurance Regulation in North America written by Bradly J. Condon and published by Kluwer Law International B.V.. This book was released on 2003-01-01 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The intersection of insurance regulation and trade agreements is of obvious significance to international competitiveness and, thereby, to national welfare. Yet until this masterful study the subject has remained virtually unexplored. Insurance Regulation in North America, far from merely addressing this important area of theory and practice, superbly balances a world of detailed analysis and commentary with deeply insightful interpretation and debate. The book's focus on insurance regulation in three countries allows the authors to approach the subject in an extraordinary depth that could not be achieved in a more global account. In the course of their treatment the authors offer the reader the following invaluable insights, among many others:analysis of the political dimension of reaching agreements and of implementing them;comparison of the three major trade agreements that apply in the North American insurance market'NAFTA, WTO agreements on financial services, and MEUFTA (the Mexico-European Union Free Trade Agreement)'with emphasis on the relationship between GATS and NAFTA principles;investigation of the clear convergence of regulatory schemes and the probable limits to harmonization;discussion of the arbitrage by which companies get around regulatory restrictions and exploit opportunities created by loopholes;clarification of the crucial issues surrounding the role of customary international law principles in investor protection obligations;discussion of the level of government and which government agencies a company must turn to in order to satisfy legal requirements;analysis of the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Mexico regarding legal effects of treaties on domestic law;commentary on the effects of demutualization and of mergers and acquisitions;discussion of the effect of the entrenchment of U.S. State regulations and the federal government's lack of clear power to force State compliance; anddescription of dispute settlement procedures between governments. Although important issues arising in each of the three countries are all covered, there is an emphasis on the Mexican market in recognition of Mexico's greater future growth potential and of the relative paucity of relevant literature in English. Major case studies that reveal processes of compliance or conflict are analyzed in detail. For insurance professionals'lawyers, business executives, and policymakers'who want to understand what international trade agreements contain, how they work, and how they affect domestic insurance regulation and business strategy in what is rapidly becoming a global market for insurance and other financial services, this book is a gold mine. Scholars and academics in insurance law and international economic law will also find here a fresh new treatise of great significance.
Download or read book U S Insurance Regulation written by Richard G. Liskov and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2023-11-03 with total page 141 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offering an innovative and experience-based perspective, Richard G. Liskov’s erudite treatise provides a comprehensive overview of the basic principles and procedures for how state insurance regulators in the US supervise a crucial sector of the economy. The book not only explores the theoretical dimensions of insurance regulation, but also presents practical insights and guidance for dealing with the main US insurance regulatory issues.
Download or read book Modernizing Insurance Regulation written by John H. Biggs and published by Wiley. This book was released on 2014-04-21 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The future of the insurance regulation begins now For those involved with the insurance industry, from investment professionals to policy makers, and regulators to legislators, tremendous change is coming. With insurance premiums constituting an ever-growing portion of annual U.S. GDP and provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act specifically calling for modernization of insurance regulations, the issues at hand are pervasive. In Modernizing Insurance Regulation, these issues are described against a backdrop of the political and industry discussions that surround insurance, regulation, and systemic risk. Experts Viral V. Acharya and Matthew Richardson discuss a variety of issues with top thinkers in the fields of finance, derivatives, credit risk, and banking to bring to light the most germane elements of this ongoing discussion. In Modernizing Insurance Regulation, Acharya and Richardson call on the expertise of all the relevant stakeholders within government, academia, and industry to offer a well-rounded and independent view of insurance regulation and how the evolution of this key industry affects the U.S. economy now and in the future. Provides an overview of the feasibility of maintaining a state-level regulatory structure Offers a view of the issues from top academics, industry leaders, and state regulators Explores the debate surrounding the insurance industry and systemic risk Provides an in-depth look at upcoming changes under the Dodd-Frank Act Modernizing Insurance Regulation provides a look into the crucial changes coming to insurance regulation and an overview of how those changes will affect almost everyone.
Download or read book Macroprudential Solvency Stress Testing of the Insurance Sector written by Mr.Andreas A. Jobst and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2014-07-22 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the last decade, stress testing has become a central aspect of the Fund’s bilateral and multilateral surveillance work. Recently, more emphasis has also been placed on the role of insurance for financial stability analysis. This paper reviews the current state of system-wide solvency stress tests for insurance based on a comparative review of national practices and the experiences from Fund’s FSAP program with the aim of providing practical guidelines for the coherent and consistent implementation of such exercises. The paper also offers recommendations on improving the current insurance stress testing approaches and presentation of results.
Download or read book Accounting discretion of banks during a financial crisis written by Mr.Luc Laeven and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2009-09-01 with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper shows that banks use accounting discretion to overstate the value of distressed assets. Banks' balance sheets overvalue real estate-related assets compared to the market value of these assets, especially during the U.S. mortgage crisis. Share prices of banks with large exposure to mortgage-backed securities also react favorably to recent changes in accounting rules that relax fair-value accounting, and these banks provision less for bad loans. Furthermore, distressed banks use discretion in the classification of mortgage-backed securities to inflate their books. Our results indicate that banks' balance sheets offer a distorted view of the financial health of the banks.
Download or read book How Should the Federal Government Oversee Insurance written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Financial Services. Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book When Gambling for Resurrection is Too Risky written by Divya Kirti and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2017-08-07 with total page 59 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rather than taking on more risk, US insurers hit hard by the crisis pulled back from risk taking, relative to insurers not hit as hard by the crisis. Capital requirements alone do not explain this risk reduction: insurers hit hard reduced risk within assets with identical regulatory treatment. State level US insurance regulation makes it unlikely this risk reduction was driven by moral suasion. Other financial institutions also reduce risk after large shocks: the same approach applied to banks yields similar results. My results suggest that, at least in some circumstances, franchise value can dominate, making gambling for resurrection too risky.
Download or read book The Risks of Financial Institutions written by Mark Carey and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2007-11-01 with total page 669 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Until about twenty years ago, the consensus view on the cause of financial-system distress was fairly simple: a run on one bank could easily turn to a panic involving runs on all banks, destroying some and disrupting the financial system. Since then, however, a series of events—such as emerging-market debt crises, bond-market meltdowns, and the Long-Term Capital Management episode—has forced a rethinking of the risks facing financial institutions and the tools available to measure and manage these risks. The Risks of Financial Institutions examines the various risks affecting financial institutions and explores a variety of methods to help institutions and regulators more accurately measure and forecast risk. The contributors--from academic institutions, regulatory organizations, and banking--bring a wide range of perspectives and experience to the issue. The result is a volume that points a way forward to greater financial stability and better risk management of financial institutions.
