Federal Charter Debate

* Pros: Several proposals are in Congress for an optional federal charter for insurance companies. Some insurance groups and national carriers claim the state-based insurance regulatory system is inefficient, crippling them from bringing products to market as fast as their competitors in banking and securities.* Cons: A new study released by the Alliance for American Insurers argues that an optional federal charter for property/casualty insurance would not improve regulatory efficiency, and, in fact, such a dual regulatory system would introduce more risk, more litigation and higher costs.