NAIC Chief Koken of Pa. Says States are Watching AIG Closely

Responding to the announcement from American International Group that it was restating its financial statements for the years 2000 to present, and that the filing of its 2004 annual report would again be delayed, Pennsylvania’s Insurance Commissioner and President of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Diane Koken, maintained that states including her own are closely monitoring the insurer.

She said her own department has been engaged in a “comprehensive financial exam” of AIG, which has remained open due to pending issues with the insurer.

Koken also said she is encouraged by AIG’s management’s apparent willingness to cooperate with officials and address problems that have surfaced.

“While I remain very disappointed at the improprieties being discovered at AIG, I am encouraged to see that the new management, under Martin Sullivan, appears to be taking steps to address the nature and extent of problems with past accounting practices and internal controls,” Koken said in a statement.

She said the Pennsylvania Insurance Department and “certain other state regulators have been actively investigating the problems at AIG, and will continue to closely analyze these and all of the issues facing the AIG companies.”

In addition to the current financial exam of AIG by her department, she said she plans a “more accelerated exam schedule for this family of companies in the future as we continue our analyses.”

She said that she is hopeful that AIG is working to address its financial issues and to put better internal controls in place. “But regulators cannot and will not tolerate misrepresentations, misclassifications or misstatements, and we will be watching matters closely to assure the AIG companies continue on their remedial path,” she added.