Navigating Regulatory Issues in Insurance Businesses

This program, taught by Dan Rabinowitz of Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, will cover the basics of insurance regulatory architecture in the United States and how this structure affects the "life cycle" of insurance carriers, from formation to winding-up or sale. Viewers can expect to come away with a broad understanding of laws and regulatory oversight in these areas.

First, the program will cover the basics of how insurance companies are formed, licensed, and regulated under state law, including the concept of minimum capital and surplus. The course will discuss the legal interplay between state insurance departments and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the leading standard-setting body for insurance in the U.S.

The course will also review how the insurer's financial condition and solvency are regulated (such as statutory accounting and other regulatory tools, including the NAIC's model audit rule and risk-based capital). Among the related topics to be covered in this area are holding companies and affiliates; the emergence of "group solvency" standards; and reinsurance. The regulation of permitted investments of reserves and surplus will also be addressed.

The program will explore the key legal requirements associated with mergers and other business combinations and acquisitions of control in this sector, which give rise to important regulatory and public-policy considerations. Finally, the course will discuss what happens when an insurer becomes insolvent and the possibilities of liquidation and rehabilitation of an insurance company under state law.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify ways that insurance differs from other sectors from the standpoint of regulation and public policy
2. Analyze the basic role and functions of state insurance regulators in the oversight of insurance companies and insurance markets
3. Discuss the financial and governance requirements imposed on insurance companies and how this affects legal practice in the insurance sector.