AIA VP Part of Team Working on Iraqi Code

David Snyder, vice president and assistant general counsel for the American Insurance Association (AIA) was part of a support team that went to Amman, Jordan, in June 2004 to assist the efforts of the group that included Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Mike Pickens working to develop insurance law for a reconstructed Iraq.

Snyder was one of the members of the U.S. insurance community joining a technical assistance coalition that included representatives from European reinsurers and insurance specialists from the Middle East. One aspect of his job was to assist Pickens and his team by providing information and legal language used in the U.S. insurance codes, as well as the insurance codes of other countries.

“We worked to draft the legal framework” of the new law, Snyder explained, adding, “Mike was the real quarterback of the team. He was the thin edge of the wedge, so to speak.”

Like Pickens, Snyder noted that Iraq previously had a sophisticated insurance system. “Iraq at one point was a regional leader in insurance,” he said. Today, “there are people in the private sector and government eager to re-establish the insurance industry in Iraq and there is a legal framework waiting in the wings.” Also like Pickens, Snyder noted that further development of the Iraqi insurance system is on hold during the evolution of the security situation there.

According to Snyder, the objectives of both the group working in Iraq and the support team in Jordan included: establishing a sound and independent regulatory system for insurance in Iraq; creating a framework for the growth of domestic companies; and developing a regulatory and legal framework to encourage foreign capital investment.

The group relied heavily on the existing Jordanian insurance code for its work.

The international insurance community and insurance concerns in the Middle East are very interested in the future of Iraq as they believe it is a major, positive market, Snyder said. They recognize that Iraq at one time had an advanced insurance system. “It was like it was almost in a coma as a result of the previous dictatorship and as a result of the Iran-Iraq war.”

Of the work accomplished by Commissioner Pickens and his team in Iraq, Snyder said it was “one of the finest jobs done with the least amount of people. Direct credit goes to Mike Pickens. … I don’t know of any other program that was as successful. …

“I can’t praise him too highly,” Snyder said. Pickens’ accomplishments and his ability to leverage relationships are “a model on how to get a great deal done with very few people.”