Federal Insurance Director To Keynote 2014 Insurance Public Policy Summit

TERRE HAUTE, Ind., Feb. 26, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On the heels of his report to Congress proposing changes in insurance regulation, Michael McRaith, director of the Federal Insurance Office, will be the keynote speaker for Networks Financial Institute's (NFI) 10th anniversary Insurance Public Policy Summit.

"The NFI summit has earned a reputation as one of the most engaging and provocative annual events for the financial services industry and this year's program may produce the most vigorous discussion yet," said Brien Smith, dean of Indiana State University's Scott College of Business and interim director of NFI. "Mr. McRaith's report, shaped in part by more than 10 years of research and analysis by NFI, calls for a new federal role in insurance regulation to supplement existing state-based systems. Industry leaders, researchers, state and federal regulators and lawmakers will be on hand to weigh in on the report and other issues affecting insurance in the global economy."

The theme of the 2014 summit, scheduled for March 12 in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C., is "Confronting New Challenges in U.S. and International Regulation." Participants in the summit will take part in wide-ranging discussions of the Federal Insurance Office report and other new initiatives.

"New concerns for systemic risk and global competitiveness have led to new efforts to boost capital and liquidity requirements both domestically and internationally and to promote international policy coordination," said John A. Tatom, NFI research director and author of a 2011 policy brief for the Federal Insurance Office. "New efforts by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors will put new pressures on domestic regulators to enhance global regulation of insurance groups, including in the United States." 

Congressional representation at the summit will include Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas), chair of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance and Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), member of the Senate Banking Committee. State regulators will be represented by Monica Lindeen, Montana state auditor and president-elect of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Representing the industry will be Tim Pawlenty, chief executive officer of the Financial Services Roundtable, and Leigh Ann Pusey, president and CEO of the American Insurance Association.

Other speakers scheduled to appear are Peter Gallanis, president of the National Organization of Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association; Kevin Nixon, managing director, regulatory affairs, Institute of International Finance; Peter Wallison, senior fellow, American Enterprise Institute; and Martin F. Grace, the James S. Kemper Professor of Risk Management and associate director and research associate at the Center for Risk Management and Insurance Research at Georgia State University.

More information about the 2014 Insurance Public Policy Summit, including a registration form for the free event, is at www.isunetworks.org.

About the speakers

Michael T. McRaith was appointed the first director of the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) in June 2011. In that role, he advises Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on domestic and prudential international insurance matters. The FIO monitors all aspects of the insurance sector, including access to affordable insurance for traditionally underserved communities and consumers, minorities and low- and moderate income persons. McRaith also serves as a non-voting member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC). He is responsible for coordination of federal efforts and the development of federal policy on prudential aspects of international insurance matters. As FIO director, McRaith represents the United States at the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) and in other bi-lateral and multi-lateral international insurance matters. He also serves on the IAIS Executive Committee and as chair of the IAIS Technical Committee.

Prior to his appointment as FIO director, McRaith served for more than six years as director of the Illinois Department of Insurance. He previously practiced law for 15 years in Chicago where he specialized in the defense of financial institutions in commercial litigation. McRaith received his J.D. from Loyola University of Chicago in 1990, and his B.A. from Indiana University in 1986.

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, is the first female senator elected from North Dakota. She took the oath of office on Jan. 3, 2013. A member of the Senate Banking Committee, she works to reform the nation's housing finance system and make housing more affordable. As a member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, she works on issues critical to small businesses. She sits on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs which has oversight over government operations generally and the Department of Homeland Security, and the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.

Rep. Randy Neugebauer represents the 19th Congressional District of Texas. He serves as chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance. In that role, he works to reform the housing market, cut regulatory burdens and shift risk away from American taxpayers and back into the private sector. He is also senior member of the House Agriculture Committee and the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.

Peter G. Gallanis has served as president of the National Organization of Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Associations (NOLHGA) since 1999. NOLHGA coordinates activities of its member state guaranty associations for insolvencies of life and health insurers. Gallanis is responsible for all of the financial, legal, strategic, educational, communications, and administrative services that the organization provides.

Martin F. Grace is the James S. Kemper Professor (is professor suppose to be capitalized?) of risk management and associate director and research associate at the Center for Risk Management and Insurance Research at Georgia State University. His research has been published in various journals in economics and insurance concerning the economics and public policy aspects of insurance regulation and taxation. In particular, he has undertaken various studies of the efficiency of insurance firms, insurance taxation, optimal regulation of insurance in a federal system, and solvency regulation.

Monica J. Lindeen, commissioner of securities and insurance and Montana state auditor, was chosen president-elect of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in December. She was also appointed to the Federal Insurance Office Advisory Board, which aids the office's director in monitoring the insurance industry. She is a member of the System for Electronic Rate and Form Filing Board and the National Insurance Producer Registry Board of Directors.

Kevin Nixon is the managing director of regulatory affairs at the Institute of International Finance (IIF), a post he was appointed to in May 2012. Prior to the IIF, he was executive director, head of regulatory reform for The Westpac Group. In this role, his focus was the international regulatory reform agenda and he engaged in the debate globally with regulators, associations, and other stakeholders, assessing the implications and ensuring the Westpac Group was positioned to respond.

Tim Pawlenty is chief executive officer of the Financial Services Roundtable, which represents 100 of the largest integrated financial services companies that provide banking, insurance and investment products and services to American consumers. As a two-term governor of Minnesota, he oversaw a $50 billion biennial budget, led 30,000 state employees, and managed 20 individual state agencies and departments. As chair of the Minnesota State Board of Investment, Gov. Pawlenty directed more than $60 billion in public and private investments.

Leigh Ann Pusey is president and CEO of the American Insurance Association (AIA). She oversees the organization's operations and works directly with AIA's board of directors to develop and guide the strategic mission of the association. AIA is the leading property-casualty insurance trade organization, representing 300 insurers that write more than $117 billion in premiums each year.

Peter J. Wallison holds the Arthur F. Burns Chair in financial market studies and is co-director of American Enterprise Institute's (AEI) program on Financial Policy Studies. Prior to joining AEI, he practiced banking, corporate, and financial law at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Washington and New York.

Photo: http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-GzKN9Gm/1/L/i-GzKN9Gm-L.jpg - Michael McRaith

Photo: http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-Vn2z4hd/1/L/i-Vn2z4hd-L.jpg - Sen. Heidi Heitkamp

Photo: http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-xXPpmrN/1/L/i-xXPpmrN-L.jpg - Rep. Randy Neugebauer

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SOURCE Networks Financial Institute, Indiana State University