AIG: NAIC Corrects Misinformation

Policyholders Protected Under State Regulatory Authority

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 19, 2009) — In the face of continuing media and consumer confusion regarding American International Group, Inc. (AIG) and the role of state insurance regulators, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) urges caution and a close examination of the facts.

“In uncertain times, making correctly informed financial decisions is more important than ever,” said NAIC Chief Executive Therese M. (Terri) Vaughan, Ph.D. “This is especially true for AIG’s policyholders, where unsubstantiated information and misstatements in the media have led to unnecessary consumer frustration and fear.”

First and foremost, AIG is typically described as the world’s largest insurance company. In fact, it is a global financial services conglomerate that does business in 130 countries. AIG owns 176 other companies, in addition to 71 U.S. state-regulated insurance subsidiaries.

“State insurance regulators have been actively involved in the AIG situation to help ensure that consumers remain protected,” Dr. Vaughan said. “Regardless of the failings at AIG’s holding-company level, its insurance subsidiaries have continued to fulfill their obligations to policyholders.”

These points were further underscored in testimony this week by Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario at a Congressional hearing before the U.S. House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises.

“AIG’s insurance companies remain strong, in part because state regulation continues to wall them off from the high-risk activities engaged in by AIG Financial Products,” Ario said. “The insurance industry — just like the rest of the global economy — is facing challenges, but this only reinforces the need to be wary of changing a part of our regulatory system that has proven effective.”

Ario reiterated that AIG’s Financial Products operation — not its 71 U.S. insurance subsidiaries — created the systemic risk that caused the federal government to intercede. Additional action at the federal level, Ario stressed, should be collaborative, transparent and inclusive — and should integrate state-based insurance regulation into the framework for managing systemic risk.

“State insurance regulators recognize that federal action is needed to address systemic risk within the nation’s financial marketplace,” Ario said. “This shared objective calls for a collaborative approach .... that does not compromise one company within the enterprise for the benefit of another.”

Ario also addressed claims made by some of AIG’s competitors that the company was using federal assistance as an unfair competitive advantage.

“Regulators have devoted special attention to the current allegations, because AIG and its competitors may have distorted incentives to put their competitive engines into overdrive,” Ario said. “With the caveat that these issues are complex, we have not seen any clear evidence of under-pricing to date, though we continue to look at individual cases and at aggregate numbers on both renewals and new business at AIG.”

Click HERE for the full text of Ario’s testimony.
Click HERE for more information about the regulatory response to AIG, including a Consumer Alert and consumer FAQs.

About the NAIC

Formed in 1871, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is a voluntary organization of the chief insurance regulatory officials of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories. The NAIC has three offices: Executive Office, Washington, D.C.; Central Office, Kansas City, Mo.; and Securities Valuation Office, New York City. The NAIC serves the needs of consumers and the industry, with an overriding objective of supporting state insurance regulators as they protect consumers and maintain the financial stability of the insurance marketplace. For more information, visit www.naic.org.