A report expected from the Federal Insurance Office later this month, addressing how to modernize and improve insurance regulation, could significantly affect the insurance industry, according to an industry regulatory  expert.

The report from the new U.S. Treasury Department unit, ordered by the Dodd-Frank Act, is expected to guide public policy decision-making in the insurance industry at the federal level and perhaps even at the state level.

Michael Nelson, a lawyer with the New York law firm of Nelson Levine de Luca & Horst who represents insurers and reinsurers, said the new office “provides the federal government with a centralized structure to support its macro-level participation in the insurance industry.” That role could expand, he said.

More than 150 letters of recommendation regarding how the agency should proceed were submitted by the insurance industry.

Nelson notes that the Dodd-Frank Act explicitly states that the FIO does not have regulatory authority, leaving it short of the call by some in Congress to federalize all insurance. Inst

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The Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) has appointed Phil Bird to the role of IFB Director on a six month secondment, effective from February 1.

Since the beginning of December, Phil has been overseeing the day-to-day operations of IFB while continuing to manage the customer services operations for MIB.

Phil will report to the IFB Supervisory Board, which will meet in February for the first time since it was established, and during the next 6 months the Board members will consider the responsibilities and requirements of the IFB Director role.

Part of the organisation’s new 3-year strategy is to deliver enhanced services to its customers, including developing fraud detection capabilities at the application stage.

David Neave, Chairman of the IFB Supervisory Board said, “Phil will work closely with the new members of the IFB Supervisory and Technical Boards to build their familiarity with the IFB’s operations.

“This will ensure that the strategy is rolled out as planned and that the investment is delivering the fraud detection services required by the industry. These c

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Make the most of your time and repair money with these tips.

Don’t let a visit to the repair shop put a dent in your wallet. Consider these six tips from “The Car Coach,” author and automotive analyst Lauren Fix:

1. Stick to the owner’s manual recommendations. Most manuals lay out a lifetime maintenance plan to keep your vehicle running reliably with minimal repairs and costs. The manual also provides solid information to refer to before you get the car serviced. “It ma

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Matrix Direct, a nationwide leader in direct-to-consumer term life insurance products, now encourages consumers to communicate directly with the company via social media. By using the new Ask an Expert option, consumers can ask questions about term life insurance through Twitter and Facebook and get answers directly back from the company.

Matrix Direct developed the Ask an Expert feature as part of an ongoing commitment to assist consumers and answer questions in a convenient, timely manner.

Ask an ExpertBy clicking on the Ask an Expert links on MatrixDirect.com, consumers are directed to a webpage on the site where they can choose to message the company through either Twitter or Facebook.

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December might be a busy month, but we still received plenty of entries into our monthly travel writing competition, My World First. Just like last month, theres no shortage of rousing reads and the overall standard of writing is great. Thank you to everyone who entered. Our judging panel are about to get to work and the winner will be announced in our newsletter shortly. You can sign up at .

My World First is a competition that rolls from month to month and weve already been sent the first few entries for Januarys competition.

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