A regulatory group is giving insurers a break on fees.[@@]
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Kansas City, Mo., is waiving a requirement that insurers pay a second, $790,000 installment on a special Securities Valuation Office assessment.
The SVO evaluates the safety level of the securities in insurance company portfolios.
In 2004, state insurance regulators agreed to exempt "Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization-equivalent" securities from SVO filing rules.
NAIC officials imposed a 2-part, $1.58 million assessment in an effort to keep the filing rules change from cutting SVO revenue.
But the filing fee shortfall was smaller than expected because insurers paid to file more than 4,000 securities that were exempt from the filing requirement, and that reduced the need for an assessment to hold revenue steady, according to NAIC Chief Executive Catherine Weatherford.
