Late last week, the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives each introduced similar resolutions disapproving of proposed measures from the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) to reduce transparency and public participation in IAIS meetings.

Sens. Jon Tester (D-Montana) and Dean Heller (R-Nevada) introduced S.Res. 561 in the Senate, while Reps. Bill Huizenga (R-Michigan) and Greg Meeks (D-New York) introduced the House version, H.Res. 735.

The IAIS represents insurance regulators and supervisors from all over the world to promote consistent and effective supervision of the insurance industry. Recently, the organization issued a rule saying the IAIS would restrict public access to all future meetings and that outside groups would be allowed to observe the meetings by invitation only. The new rule would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2015.

The implementation of this new measure comes at a time when the IAIS is attempting to craft capital standards for internationally active insurance groups (IAIGs). The insurance industry has been critical of the proposed draft standards, stating they are unnecessary and do not fit the domestic insurance regulatory model. The closed door meetings will mean that U.S. regulators, industry participants, and the public will have far fewer opportunities to weigh in on these standards and others before they are implemented.

This has raised concerns among industry representatives specifically on the lack of opportunity to provide feedback on how the proposed capital standards will impact insurers. The Big “I” supports the recent resolutions and agrees that openness, transparency and the opportunity to weigh in on IAIS proposals play an integral role in the standard setting process.