NY and PA Insurance Commissioners Refute NY Times on "New AIG Weakness"

Kermitt Brooks and Joel Ario, respectively the Acting New York Superintendent of Insurance and Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner and, respectively, the Chair and Vice Chair of the NAIC AIG Managing Task Force, have acted swiftly to refute a July 30, 2009 article in the New York Times which suggested that there was new weakness at AIG. The following points were made in a letter to the editor of the New York Times dated July 31, 2009 posted on the NAIC website:

"As state regulators charged with protecting AIG policyholders, we were disappointed that 

The New York Times July 30 article, "After Rescue, New Weakness Seen at A.I.G" by Mary Williams Walsh, relied heavily on critics with less access to the facts than state regulators and failed to fully explicate the multiple ways in which policyholders are protected by state regulators.

"The process includes quarterly and annual financial reports from the individual entities which are analyzed thoroughly by mutiple review teams working individually and cooperatively through processes facilitated by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

"We are convinced, based on a complete, broad and deep ongoing review of all current material information, that the claims-paying abilities of these companies remains appropriate. If this status changes, we are prepared and fully able to step in on behalf of policyholders and protect their interests.

"During this extremely critical time, it is vital that important voices in the public discourse such as

The New York Times , act and speak responsibly with the full recognition that making inappropriate assertions based on incomplete information ultimately hurts both policyholders and taxpayers.

NAIC Website link