As the development and implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 begins, the makeup of the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) prescribed in Title V of act has the attention of the insurance industry.
In a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, a collation of insurance associations is asking him to provide the office with sufficient wherewithal to accomplish it’s mission, which includes representing the U.S. internationally, and becoming the federal government’s warehouse of knowledge on all important aspects of the insurance industry.
“It is crucial that the FIO be provided with sufficient resources and personnel to ensure that it can accomplish its stated purpose,” the letter states. “Moreover, the Director and other FIO staff should reflect objective, unbiased views and an understanding of the property-casualty and life industries and their business models.”
The letter also states the person tapped to head the FIO “must be able to command the resources and respect necessary” to accomplish the agency’s mission. “It is important that the FIO Director have the experience and stature necessary to carry out the portfolio that Congress has enumerated for the FIO.”
Indeed, the person ultimately chosen to lead the FIO will have their work cut out for them. The federal government is, for the first time in modern history, engaging on insurance and reinsurance matters in a permanent fashion,” the letter states. “The steps taken in implementing the FIO, both as a matter of structure and policy, will set the tone for its operation for years to come.”
Signatories of the letter include the
