I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2141 

To require consultation with Congress, insurers, and consumers with respect 

to domestic insurance and international insurance standards, regulations, 

or frameworks, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 30, 2015 

Mr. DUFFY (for himself, Mr. NEUGEBAUER, Mr. WESTMORELAND, Mr. GARRETT, and Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To require consultation with Congress, insurers, and consumers with respect to domestic insurance and international insurance standards, regulations, or frameworks, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘International Insur5 ance Standards Transparency and Policyholder Protection 

6 Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CONSULTATION CONCERNING NEGOTIATIONS WITH 

2 RESPECT TO INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE 

3 REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) The State-based system for insurance regu6 lation in the United States has served American con7 sumers well for more than 150 years. 

8 (2) Protecting policyholders by guaranteeing an 

9 insurer’s ability to pay claims has been the hallmark 

10 of the successful U.S. system and should be the 

11 paramount objective of domestic prudential regula12 tion and emerging international standards. 

13 (3) The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and 

14 Consumer Protection Act (Public Law 111–203) re15 affirmed the State-based insurance regulatory sys16 tem, while giving the Board of Governors of the 

17 Federal Reserve System authority to regulate certain 

18 non-bank entities on a consolidated basis, including 

19 insurers that have been designated systemically im20 portant financial institutions or that include an in21 sured depository institution and are regulated by the 

22 States at the insurance entity level. 

23 (4) United States regulators participating in 

24 discussions or negotiations regarding international 

25 insurance regulatory frameworks should support 


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1 standards designed solely for the protection of pol2 icyholders. 

3 (5) The Federal Insurance Office should seek 

4 advice and recommendations from a diverse group of 

5 outside experts in performing the duties and au6 thorities of the Office to ensure policy holders are 

7 protected. 

8 (b) NEGOTIATING OBJECTIVES FOR INTERNATIONAL

9 INSURANCE REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS.—The negoti10 ating objectives of the United States regarding inter11 national insurance regulatory frameworks are as follows: 

12 (1) To seek standards, requirements, and rules 

13 focused solely on protection of policy holders, as re14 flected in the United States solvency regime. 

15 (2) To promote a principles-based approach to 

16 insurance supervision, in which capital adequacy is 

17 assessed using risk-based capital requirements com18 bined with qualitative risk assessment and manage19 ment tools on a legal entity basis, rather than a 

20 quantitative global capital standard for insurance 

21 groups. 

22 (3) To seek the most efficient and least disrup23 tive approaches to enhancing regulatory assessment 

24 of the capital adequacy of insurance groups, includ25 ing tools that are already in place, such as superVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 May 12, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2141.IH H2141

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1 visory colleges, as well as the evaluation of the cap2 italization of an insurance group using the existing 

3 internal model of the group, where appropriate, 

4 which captures the risks associated with each unique 

5 line of business and geographic mix of the group. 

6 (4) To negotiate an international insurance reg7 ulatory framework that recognizes United States 

8 prudential measures as equivalent to foreign meas9 ures. 

10 (c) PROHIBITIONS AND FOCUS ON POLICY HOLDER

11 PROTECTION.—With respect to negotiations related to any 

12 international insurance regulatory framework: 

13 (1) INAPPROPRIATE BANK CAPITAL STAND14 ARDS.—United States representatives shall not agree 

15 to, accept, or establish, and shall use their voice and 

16 vote to oppose, any international standard that ap17 plies to— 

18 (A) insurers, capital standards, and rules 

19 designed for banks; or 

20 (B) any insurer that has not been des21 ignated a systemically important financial insti22 tution under United States law or a global sys23 temically important insurer by the Financial 

24 Stability Oversight Council, capital standards 


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1 and rules designed for systemically important 

2 bank or non-bank financial institutions. 

3 (2) FOCUS ON POLICYHOLDER PROTECTION.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—United States rep5 resentatives shall not agree to, accept, or estab6 lish, and shall use their voice and vote to op7 pose, any capital standard or rule applicable to 

8 United States insurance entities or groups un9 less that standard is designed solely to help en10 sure that sufficient funds are available to pay 

11 claims to an insurer’s policyholders in the event 

12 of the liquidation of that entity. 

13 (B) ENHANCED CAPITAL STANDARDS.— 

14 The limitation under subparagraph (A) does 

15 not apply to enhanced capital standards appli16 cable to insurance entities or groups designated 

17 under section 113 of the Dodd-Frank Wall 

18 Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act 

19 (12 U.S.C. 5323). 

20 (d) NOTICE AND CONSULTATION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to any inter22 national insurance regulatory framework, the Presi23 dent shall— 

24 (A) not less than 90 days before the 

25 United States intends to participate in or enter 


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1 into negotiations with respect to such a regu2 latory framework, provide to the covered con3 gressional committees written notice of the in4 tention of the United States to participate in or 

5 enter into such negotiations and an outline of 

6 the objectives of such negotiations, including 

7 whether and how such objectives achieve the ob8 jectives set forth in subsection (b) and are con9 sistent with the prohibitions under subsection 

10 (c) and with existing Federal and State laws or 

11 regulations or policy related to prudential regu12 lation of insurance; 

13 (B) during the negotiations of such a regu14 latory framework, including prior to significant 

15 decisions points in the negotiations and prior to 

16 development of interim drafts, and before 

17 agreeing to, accepting, or establishing such 

18 framework, consult with the covered congres19 sional committees and the Federal Advisory 

20 Committee on Insurance established under sec21 tion 313(f) of title 31, United States Code, in22 cluding with respect to whether and how such 

23 negotiations or any international insurance reg24 ulatory framework achieves the objectives set 

25 forth in subsection (b) and is consistent with 


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1 the prohibitions under subsection (c) and with 

2 existing Federal and State laws or regulations 

3 or policy related to prudential regulation of in4 surance; 

5 (C) in the course of negotiating such a reg6 ulatory framework, provide members and appro7 priate staff of the covered congressional com8 mittees access to pertinent documents relating 

9 to the negotiations of such framework; 

10 (D) not less than 60 days before the date 

11 on which the United States intends to agree to, 

12 accept, or establish such a framework, the 

13 President shall— 

14 (i) notify the covered congressional 

15 committees of the intention of the United 

16 States to agree to, accept, or establish 

17 such a framework by providing a descrip18 tion in enough detail for the covered con19 gressional committees to comment; 

20 (ii) notify the Federal Advisory Com21 mittee on Insurance of the intention of the 

22 United States to agree to, accept, or estab23 lish such framework by providing a de24 scription in enough detail for the members 

25 to comment; and 


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1 (iii) publish notice of such intention 

2 by providing a description in enough detail 

3 in the Federal Register to meet the re4 quirements for public consultation under 

5 subsection (h); and 

6 (E) not less than 15 days before the 

7 United States agrees to, accepts, or establishes 

8 such a regulatory framework, the President 

9 shall submit to the covered congressional com10 mittees and the Federal Advisory Committee on 

11 Insurance the final text of such framework and 

12 a description of how the proposed framework 

13 achieves the objectives set forth in subsection 

14 (b) and is consistent with the prohibitions 

15 under subsection (c), and how such proposed 

16 framework differs from existing Federal and 

17 State laws or regulations or policy related to 

18 prudential regulation of insurance. 

19 (2) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION TO MEM20 BERS OF CONGRESS.—The covered congressional 

21 committees shall make available to all Members of 

22 Congress the information required to be provided 

23 under paragraph (1)(A). 

24 (e) COORDINATION WITH THE NATIONAL ASSOCIA25 TION OF INSURANCE COMMISSIONERS.—In developing obVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 May 12, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2141.IH H2141

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1 jectives pursuant to subsection (d)(1)(A) for an inter2 national insurance regulatory framework, and throughout 

3 the negotiations of such framework, the President shall 

4 closely consult and coordinate with the National Associa5 tion of Insurance Commissioners. 

6 (f) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE ASSESS7 MENTS.— 

8 (1) NOTICE AND SUBMISSION.—Not later than 

9 60 days before the date on which the United States 

10 intends to agree to, accept, or establish an inter11 national insurance regulatory framework, the Presi12 dent shall provide to the Comptroller General of the 

13 United States a description of such framework in 

14 enough detail to allow the Comptroller General to 

15 conduct the assessment required under paragraph 

16 (2). 

17 (2) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 60 days 

18 after the date on which President provides the infor19 mation described in paragraph (1) with respect to an 

20 international insurance agreement, the Comptroller 

21 General shall submit to the President and the cov22 ered congressional committees an assessment of the 

23 economic effects of such agreement on the United 

24 States insurance industry, consumers of insurance, 

25 and the United States economy. 


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1 (g) NEGOTIATIONS IN PROGRESS ON DATE OF EN2 ACTMENT.— 

3 (1) NOTICE.—Not later than 15 days after the 

4 date of the enactment of this Act, the President 

5 shall provide to the covered congressional commit6 tees and the Federal Advisory Committee on Insur7 ance the written notice described in subsection 

8 (d)(1) with respect to negotiations relating to an 

9 international insurance regulatory framework that 

10 were in progress on such date. 

11 (2) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY ASSESS12 MENT.— 

13 (A) NOTICE AND SUBMISSION.—Not later 

14 than 60 days after the date of the enactment of 

15 this Act, the President shall provide to the 

16 Comptroller General of the United States a de17 scription of each international insurance regu18 latory framework for which negotiations were in 

19 progress on such date in enough detail to allow 

20 the Comptroller General to conduct the assess21 ment required under subparagraph (B). 

22 (B) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 60 days 

23 after the date on which the President provides 

24 the information described in subparagraph (A) 

25 with respect to an international insurance reguVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 May 12, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2141.IH H2141

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1 latory framework, the Comptroller General shall 

2 submit to the President and the covered con3 gressional committees an assessment of the eco4 nomic effects of such framework on the United 

5 States insurance industry, consumers of insur6 ance, and the United States economy. 

7 (h) PUBLIC CONSULTATION.— 

8 (1) NOTICE OF NEGOTIATIONS.—Not later than 

9 90 days before the United States intends to partici10 pate in or enter into negotiations to agree to, accept, 

11 or establish an international insurance regulatory 

12 framework with an international standard-setting or13 ganization or a foreign government, authority, or 

14 regulatory entity, the President shall publish in the 

15 Federal Register and make available for public com16 ment written notice of the intention of the United 

17 States to participate in or enter into such negotia18 tions and an outline of the objectives of such nego19 tiations, including whether and how such objectives 

20 achieve the objectives set forth in subsection (b) and 

21 are consistent with the prohibitions under subsection 

22 (c) and with existing Federal and State laws or reg23 ulations or policy related to prudential regulation of 

24 insurance. 


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1 (2) DESCRIPTION OF FRAMEWORK.—Not later 

2 than 60 days before the date on which the United 

3 States agrees to, accepts, or establishes an inter4 national insurance regulatory framework with an 

5 international standard-setting organization or a for6 eign government, authority, or regulatory entity, the 

7 President shall publish in the Federal Register a de8 scription of the framework in enough detail to make 

9 such framework available for public comment. 

10 (3) FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT.—Not later than 

11 15 days before agreeing to, accepting, or estab12 lishing an international insurance regulatory frame13 work, publish in the Federal Register the final text 

14 of the framework and a description of how the 

15 framework achieves the objectives set forth in sub16 section (b) and is consistent with the prohibitions 

17 under subsection and how such proposed framework 

18 differs from existing Federal and State laws or regu19 lations or policy related to prudential regulation of 

20 insurance. 

21 (i) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.—Nothing in this section 

22 shall— 

23 (1) preempt— 


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1 (A) any State insurance measure that gov2 erns any insurer’s rates, premiums, under3 writing, or sales practices; 

4 (B) any State coverage requirements for 

5 insurance; 

6 (C) the application of the antitrust laws of 

7 any State to the business of insurance; or 

8 (D) any State insurance measure gov9 erning the capital or solvency of an insurer, ex10 cept to the extent that such State insurance 

11 measure results in less favorable treatment of a 

12 non-United States insurer than a United States 

13 insurer; 

14 (2) be construed to alter, amend, or limit any 

15 provision of the Consumer Financial Protection Act 

16 of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481 et seq.); or 

17 (3) affect the preemption of any State insur18 ance measure otherwise inconsistent with and pre19 empted by Federal law. 

20 (j) EXCLUSION.—The requirements of this section 

21 shall not apply to any covered agreement, as such term 

22 is defined in section 313(r) of title 31, United States Code 

23 (as added by the amendment made by section 502(a)(3) 

24 the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Pro25 tection Act (Public Law 111–203, 124 Stat. 1587)). 


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1 (k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

2 (1) COVERED CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 

3 The term ‘‘covered congressional committees’’ means 

4 the Committee on Financial Services of the House of 

5 Representatives and the Committee on Banking, 

6 Housing and Urban Affairs of the Senate. 

7 (2) INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE REGULATORY

8 FRAMEWORK.—The term ‘‘international insurance 

9 regulatory framework’’ means any international su10 pervisory standards developed by an international 

11 standards setting organization in which the United 

12 States participates, including the Common Frame13 work for the Supervision of Internationally Active 

14 Insurance Groups, that provides for group-wide su15 pervision of internationally active insurance groups 

16 and includes an insurance capital standard. 

Æ 


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