Benjamin Lawsky

  • New York Insurance Commissioner
    • PBR - 
    • IUL
    • MetLife v FSOC
  • dfs.ny.gov/reports_and_publications/press_releases/pr1305211 - MetLife - Captive Reinsurance
  • 2013 - Report - NYSID - Shining a Light on Shadow Insurance: A Little-known Loophole That Puts Insurance Policyholders and Taxpayers at Greater Risk, by Ben Lawsky - 24p
  • 2013 0418 - Lecture - Regulating In An Evolving Financial Landscape, Ben Lawsky, NY Insurance Commissioner, Fordham -  22p
  • 2013 0521 - Press Release - NYSID - Statement of Superintendent Ben Lawsky on MetLife's Decision to Move Offshore "Captive" Subsidiary Back to the United States - [link]
  • 2013 0917- ThinkAdvisor - ACLI calls Lawsky's letter on reserves 'irresponsible', By Elizabeth D. Festa - [link]
    • In a letter to state insurance commissioners, the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) called the top New York insurance regulator’s remarks on life insurance reserving “irresponsible” and inaccurate, the former because they erode trust in the state regulatory system and the industry and the latter for a
  • 2014 0730 - Letter - Benjamin Lawsky, New York Superintendent of Financial Services to Jacob Lew, DOTT, FSOC, Financial Stability Oversight Council - re: MetLife Designation - 5p
  • 2014 0812 - Letter - New York Department of Financial Services (Ben Lawsky) to State Insurance Commissioners, plus Jacob Lew (DOTT), Michael McrRaith (FIO) - <WishList>
  • 2014 0921 (Updated) - WSJ - New York Probes Indexed Universal Life Sales Practices Benjamin Lawsky Concerned Insurance Companies Giving Optimistic Projections, By Leslie Scism - [link]
  • 2014 0926 - WSJ - Scrutiny of Stock-Linked Insurance Policies Grows: Some Say Performance Projections for Indexed Universal Life Are Too Rosy, By Leslie Scism - [link]
  • 2013 0917- ThinkAdvisor - ACLI calls Lawsky's letter on reserves 'irresponsible', By Elizabeth D. Festa - [link]
    • In a letter to state insurance commissioners, the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) called the top New York insurance regulator’s remarks on life insurance reserving “irresponsible” and inaccurate, the former because they erode trust in the state regulatory system and the industry and the latter for actuarial reasons.
    •  Actuarial Guideline 38 (AG 38)
    • <WishList> - Lawsky Letter - Bad Link - https://www.dfs.ny.gov/about/press2013/pr1309111-link.pdf-
    • 2013 0912 - Letter - ACLI - [link]
    • This is not the first time that Lawsky and the DFS have warned about PBR.
      • <WishList> - Lawsky launched a warning in a Nov. 26 letter near the eve of the NAIC national meeting where the state-based organization is gathering to adopt the pivotal Valuation Manual.
         
  • 1. MetLife does not engage in non-traditional non-insurance activities that create any appreciable systemic risk.
    • Insurance regulation differs qualitatively from banking regulation.
      • An insurer’s liabilities take the form of collecting premiums in exchange for a promise to pay upon the occurrence of a fortuitous future event that is beyond the control of either the insurer or the insured party.
    • A bank’s liabilities, by contrast, take the form of promises to repay its depositors’ funds upon demand at any time no matter how short the notice.
  • This difference between the contractual promises insurers make and the on-demand nature of bank deposits means that the life insurance business is less susceptible to liquidity problems or mismatch between asset and liability maturity than banking.

2014 0730 - Letter - Benjamin Lawsky, New York Superintendent of Financial Services to Jacob Lew, DOTT,FSOC, Financial Stability Oversight Council- re: MetLife Designation - 5p

  • In June 2013, the New York Department of Financial Services ("DES") concluded a nearly year-long investigation into life insurer-owned captive insurance vehicles.1
    • Upon finding that New York-based insurers and their affiliates engaged in at least $48 billion in transactions that enabled them to reduce their reserves and artificially inflate their balance sheets by juicing their risk-based capital ratios by approximately 250%, DFS urged fellow state insurance commissioners to adopt a national moratorium with regard to future captives transactions until a fuller and more complete picture could emerge that would inform collective decision-making.  (p1)

2014 0812 - Letter - New York Department of Financial Services (Ben Lawsky) to State Insurance Commissioners, plus Jacob Lew (DOTT), Michael McrRaith (FIO) - <WishList>

  • 2014 1001 - InsuranceNewsNet.com - Usually Quiet Corner Of The Industry Debates Reinsurance Captives, By Cyril Tuohy - [link]
    • A relatively obscure corner of the insurance industry has lit up in the past 18 months.  State insurance commissioners, consultants, lobbyists and powerful insurance carriers have engaged in a vociferous give-and-take.
    • At issue is how to craft a legal and economic reinsurance framework that will bring states' regulations into uniformity with regard to captive reinsurance transactions that are used to finance insurance company reserves.
    • In a report issued last year, New York-based insurers were found to be inflating balance sheets by “juicing” capital ratios by 250 percent, enabling carriers to reduce reserves by tens of billions of dollars, Lawsky said.
    • <WishList> - “The New York approach is fundamentally flawed, as lower mortality rates become the new valuation standard for all companies in New York, whether they actually have mortality experience that is that low or not,” the NAIC leaders wrote.