Compliance

Two teams of conferees headed by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D.-Conn.) and House Financial Services Committee Barney Frank (D.-Mass.) are meeting this week in an attempt to reconcile their differing visions on the extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act.

It's no secret that the insurance industry takes a relatively dire view of regulatory compliance. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) is reported to have cost public companies across all verticals $35 billion last year. If the popular press is correct, that equates to 30,000 man-hours per company, per year, to comply. Although it's a given that promoting accurate bookkeeping (not cooked books) is simply best practice, the only companies seeming to benefit from compliance efforts are the pool of compliance-related technology solution providers.

Washington – An extension to the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) has passed the U.S. Senate. The measure was approved by unanimous consent. The original TRIA was passed in wake of 9/11 and is set to expire on December 31.

Tropics Software Technologies announced its new Director of Software Development, Robert Sillett. Sillett will concentrate his efforts on the new Tropics .NET platform. He has teamed up with the Tropics system designer and recruited consulting help to build a robust .NET architecture for the upcoming versions of Tropics software.

Washington — Insurance industry associations are obliging to a request for comments by the U.S. Treasury Department as it conducts a review of the regulatory structure associated with financial institutions. Several associations used the opportunity to reiterate their opposition to the creation of the optional federal charter (OFC) for the insurance industry. Senators Tim Johnson, D-N.D. and John Sununu, R-N.H., introduced the National Insurance Act of 2007 into the upper house in May.

Washington – An extension to the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) has passed the U.S. Senate. The measure was approved on Friday by unanimous consent. The original TRIA was passed in wake of 9/11 and is set to expire on December 31.

Washington – The Homeowners' Defense Act of 2007, introduced into the upper chamber by Senators Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Bill Nelson, D-Fla., aims to address availability and affordability of natural disaster insurance.

Washington – A Bill to revamp the National Flood Insurance Program has left the Senate Banking Committee and is set for the floor. To the delight of many, the Senate version does not add coverage to wind losses to the program.

Kansas City, Mo. – The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has responded to a letter from a coalition of consumer groups that questioned the impartiality of the recently adopted revisions to the NAIC Viatical Settlements Model Act with a letter of their own.

Bismarck, N.D. – A coalition of consumer representatives have asked the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to revisit the recently adopted changes to the viatical settlement model law. In a letter, the group raised the specter of conflict of interest, and urged NAIC to strengthen its policy regarding it.

Washington – Legislation introduced in the House aimed at revamping the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is garnering praise. H.R. 3959, sponsored by Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) and Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), proposes to gradually phase out some of the subsidies in the program.

Washington - A notice published in the Federal Register seeking comments for a broad Treasury Department review of financial regulation is biased in favor of federal regulation of insurance and foreign business entities, according to the Alexandria, Va.-based National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA).The specifics of the Nov. 11, 2007 published notice "raise critical concerns about the direction, purpose and intent of the review process itself, concerns we are compelled to address directly to you at this time," states PIA in a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

Washington — The Office of Management and Budget has released a "statement of administration policy" threatening a presidential veto of legislation aimed at extending the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA).

Washington — Insurance industry associations are giving mostly favorable reviews to the passage of H.R. 2761, legislation that would extend and expand the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA). The bill, which passed the lower chamber yesterday by a vote of 312-110, aims to extend TRIA for 15 years, and expand the number of lines covered within it.

Needham, Mass. — A new research report from TowerGroup Inc. says insurers should go above and beyond current regulatory requirements when dealing with the issue of annuity suitability.

Washington — The heads of two insurance industry associations have issued a joint letter urging the National Governor's Association to drop their opposition to the National Insurance Act.

Washington — The need to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) is only having a minimal effect on enterprise risk management (ERM), new research has found.

New York – New York Life Insurance Co. promoted Richard Eppink, Jr. to vice president in the Special Markets Department, reporting to first vice president Victoria Buhrow. Eppink is now responsible for developing and executing strategic direct marketing plans for the AARP Lifetime Income Program, New York Life's Tampa-based operation which markets and administers income annuity products to AARP members. Eppink joined New York Life in 1999 as an assistant vice president of marketing with the AARP Life Insurance Program, and was promoted to corporate vice president in 2002.

Armonk, N.Y. and Ottawa - IBM and Cognos have entered into a definitive agreement for IBM to acquire Cognos, a publicly held company based in Ottawa, in an all-cash transaction at a price of approximately $5 billion or $58 per share, with a net transaction value of $4.9 billion. The acquisition is subject to Cognos shareholder approval, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. It is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008.The acquisition of Cognos supports IBM's Information on Demand strategy, a cross-company initiative announced on Feb. 16, 2006 that combines IBM's strength in information integration, content and data management and business consulting services to unlock the business value of information, according to IBM. Integrating Cognos, the 23rd IBM acquisition in support of its Information on Demand strategy, will enable new business insights to be delivered to a broader set of people across an organization, beyond the traditional users of business intelligence.

Schaumburg, Ill. – News reports of poison toothpaste and lead-laced toys have not just caught the attention of consumers. The nation’s importers, and the commercial lines writers who serve them, are keenly aware of the dire implications of unsafe products.