Regulators to Hold Hearing on Model Audit Rule Amendments, May 11

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners will hold a public hearing on May 11th in Atlanta to consider amendments to the NAIC’s Model Rule Requiring Annual Audited Financial Reports, also known as the Model Audit Rule, according to the organization’s news release issued this week.

The Committee meeting will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 11, 2006, at the Westin Peachtree in Atlanta, Ga. For hotel accommodations, contact the hotel directly for reservations at 888-627-7087.

The public hearing will provide another opportunity for insurers, trade associations and the general public to comment on the merits of the proposed amendments.

According the NAIC, during its Spring National Meeting in Orlando, Fla., the NAIC/AICPA Working Group of the Committee finalized changes to the Model that include new requirements to ensure auditor independence that certain insurers provide for an audit committee and for management to report on internal controls over its financial reporting processes. Virginia Insurance Commissioner Alfred Gross chairs the Financial Condition Committee. A copy of the proposed Model Audit Rule can be accessed at http://www.naic.org/committees_e.htm.

“These amendments collectively strengthen the integrity of the insurance industry’s statutory financial reports, thereby mitigating the number and size of insurer insolvencies,” said Virginia Deputy Commissioner Doug Stolte, chair of the NAIC/AICPA Working Group. “The amendments will also facilitate movement toward a more risk-based system of solvency oversight and a principle-based valuation system for insurers.”

To submit written comments or present oral testimony at the hearing, contact Julie Glaszczak at JGlaszcz@naic.org or by phone at (816) 783-8130, by Friday, April 21, 2006.

Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., the National Association of Insurance Commissioners is a voluntary organization of the chief insurance regulatory officials of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories. The association’s states that its overriding objective is to assist state insurance regulators in protecting consumers and helping maintain the financial stability of the insurance industry by offering financial, actuarial, legal, computer, research, market conduct and economic expertise.

Source: The National Association of Insurance Commissioners