Webcast Planned on New NAIC Audit Rules: Sarbanes-Oxley for the Smaller Insurer

Morris, Manning & Martin Plans Event on April 19

Atlanta (April 6, 2006) - A free Webcast is planned to assist insurance industry professionals in understanding the impact of the new NAIC Model Audit Rules on privately-held stock and mutual insurers. The new NAIC rules will require smaller, non-public insurers to comply with many of the restrictions that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act imposes on larger, publicly-traded companies.

The Webcast, titled "The New NAIC Audit Rules: Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance for Privately-Held Stock and Mutual Insurers" will be held Wednesday, April 19 at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time/1:00 p.m. Pacific. The event is presented by the Insurance Group of Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP and is open to all interested participants.

Since passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002, insurance regulators have considered the adoption of similar governance requirements for smaller (non-public) insurers. A joint working group of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has developed amendments to the model audit rules for all insurance companies, bringing the model rules much closer to the standards defined by Sarbanes-Oxley.

The new regulations, (which upon passage will apply to all insurers, including mutual insurers, nonprofit insurance companies and privately-held firms) call for such measures as independent audit committees, new qualifications for independent auditors and expanded reporting on internal controls.

The one-hour Webcast will include an online presentation as well as a question and answer segment. The presenters will be Morris, Manning & Martin Partners Chris Petersen and Ward Bondurant. Petersen chairs Morris, Manning & Martin’s privacy group and has previously served as the vice president of the State Affairs/Legal Department of the Health Insurance Association of America. Bondurant practices in the Corporate/Securities and Insurance practice groups at Morris, Manning & Martin and has over 20 years of experience in counseling businesses and entrepreneurs in corporate compliance and governance matters.

"This development at the NAIC will finally give smaller non-public insurers some guidance on what to expect in this arena. Companies will now be able to begin structuring their compliance programs to be ready for the effective date of these new requirements," Petersen says.

There is no cost to participate. To register, visit www.mmmlaw.com and click the MMM Webcast on New NAIC Audit Rules link in the "Event Calendar" section of the home page.

Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP, ( www.mmmlaw.com) enjoys national prominence for its corporate finance, securities, litigation, technology, telecommunications, insurance, healthcare, environmental and real estate practices. The firm has offices in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham and Princeton.

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