Late last week, the House and Senate drafters of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 4173) came to final compromise on the language creating the first ever office in the federal government that is focused on the insurance industry called the Federal Insurance Office (the “FIO”), housed in the United States Department of the Treasury.  The FIO will gather information regarding the insurance industry, will monitor the industry for systemic risks, and will serve as a negotiator for international insurance treaties.  Opting for language more closely related to that proposed by the House, last discussed here, the FIO (i) must first seek industry data from state regulators before requesting such data directly from insurance companies and (ii) has the authority to preempt certain state laws it deems in conflict with international insurance agreements, but that such decisions are subject to de novo judicial review.

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