The American Insurance Association has entered into a new U.S.-U.K. industry coalition. The coalition seeks to open discussion from both countries regarding investment, trade and other issues.

Coalition Despite Brexit

With Brexit only a handful of months away and worries grow regarding international agreement and trade, the American Insurance Association (A.I.A.) has entered into a coalition with the United Kingdom. Stakeholders in the United States are taking steps to make sure relationships are in place ahead of the U.K.’s departure from the European Union.
The A.I.A. is the trade association for leaders in the property and casualty insurance industry in the United States. The A.I.A. has officially announced it is joining the U.S.-U.K. Financial and Related Professional Services Coalition. They seek to boost discussion from both sides in investment, trade, financial services and other industry issues.

Solidifying a Trade and Regulatory Relationship

“With the advent of Brexit, the trade and regulatory relationship between the U.S. and the U.K. may change significantly in the near future,” said the A.I.A.’s vice president and chief international counsel, Steve Simchak, who has been leading the coalition efforts.
“Since the UK and the US are arguably the two most [well-known] insurance markets in the world, we felt it was very important that the insurance industry both in the US and in the UK be part of the collaborative efforts amongst the financial services industries to engage with both of our governments on bilateral trade and regulatory issues,” he added.

US and UK Insurance Industries

The U.S. and U.K. insurance industries have been working on this coalition for several months. That said, the A.I.A. chose to join in order to be able to take part in establishing more structures and processes between the industries in the two countries. In this way, there will be greater opportunity to coordinate communications with each government, in addition to with each other, said Simchak.
There are three main themes that comprise the U.S.-U.K. Financial and Related Professional Services Coalition. The first theme is the promotion of enhanced regulatory cooperation. This is for the benefit of the clients, market participants and investors. The second is to recognize how the changing technological landscape is impacting financial services worldwide. The third is to increase cross-border market access.