Carefully Consider AIG's
Problem
Wall Street Journal-Opinion
October 3, 2008
Your Sept. 23
op-ed by four members of Congress,
"Insurance
Companies Need a Federal Regulator,"
mischaracterizes the regulatory infrastructure in the
marketplace today, and as a consequence, their argument for
a federal insurance regulator
misses the mark.
While AIG has
supported the establishment of an optional federal charter
to cover the insurance industry for years, the current
state-based insurance regulatory structure is sound, and has
proved to be extraordinarily effective during the current
financial turmoil. Consumers are protected, as the authors
note, and AIG's policyholders are secure. The
AIG insurance entities
regulated by the states are indeed sound and have been, and
continue to be, ready, willing and able to pay all claims.
Importantly,
throughout this turbulence in the market, the
state-regulated entities were never the source of any
disruptions, a fact that is too often overlooked when the
discussion turns to the liquidity issues the parent company
faced before its agreement with the
Federal Reserve.
And, as every
senator and representative knows, crisis situations never
beget legislation that, in the long run, is in the best
interests of consumers. The issues we face on our path
forward are complex and need to be reviewed in time and in
depth.
Anastasia Kelly
General Counsel
American International Group
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