New York and French Regulators Sign Cooperation Agreement

The New York State Insurance Department has signed an agreement with its counterpart in France that calls for increased cooperation and consultation between the two regulatory bodies.

The agreement is similar to agreements signed over the last year between New York regulators and those in Germany, the United Kingdom, Taiwan and Bermuda.

The agreement was signed yesterday by New York State Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo and Antoine Mantel of the Autorité de Contrôle des Assurances et des Mutuelles (ACAM), France’s insurance regulator.

The agreement formalizes coordination between the ACAM and the New York State Insurance Department, and provides for the exchange of information relevant to each authority’s supervisory, regulatory and examination responsibilities.

“Insurance companies and the markets are increasingly global and insurance regulation must keep pace,” Dinallo said. “As has been demonstrated during this financial crisis, international cooperation among regulators is essential to keeping the industry stable and solvent. This agreement cements our close ties with France and helps ensure policyholder protection in both our jurisdictions.”

Mantel added that “collaboration between French and New York State insurance supervisors is a prerequisite for the effective supervision of international insurance groups doing business in the two jurisdictions.” The agreement, he added, “will enable us to broaden the collegial supervision of several transatlantic insurance groups, and help us move towards the global watch of global insurance group.”

Under the agreement, either regulator may request assistance and information from the other, And either regulator may provide the other with investigative assistance, including questioning or taking testimony and conducting inspections and investigations.

New York said its insurance department is close to executing arrangements with other regulatory authorities.