State Regulators Defend AIG Role

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners says states are still better than federal agencies at protecting consumers against insurer failures.

The NAIC, Washington, makes that argument in a response to media scrutiny of financial problems and bonus arrangements at American International Group Inc., New York.

“Unsubstantiated information and misstatements in the media have led to unnecessary consumer frustration and fear,” NAIC Chief Executive Therese Vaughan says in a statement included in the NAIC response.

“State insurance regulators have been actively involved in the AIG situation to help ensure that consumers remain protected,” Vaughan says. “Regardless of the failings at AIG’s holding-company level, its insurance subsidiaries have continued to fulfill their obligations to policyholders.”