Ky. Office of Insurance Receives Accreditation Award

The Kentucky Office of Insurance (KOI) in Frankfort was one of four state insurance departments receiving accreditation awards under the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) Financial Regulation Standards and Accreditation program. Honors also were presented to regulators from Idaho, Oklahoma and Washington during the Dec. 4-7 2004 NAIC winter national meeting in New Orleans.

“We are extremely pleased to have achieved this goal,” Martin Koetters, executive director of KOI said. “Maintaining this level of regulatory competency is vital to protecting the citizens of Kentucky by ensuring insurer solvency.”

Accredited insurance departments are required to undergo a comprehensive examination every five years by an independent review team. The accreditation standards require that insurance departments have adequate statutory and administrative authority to regulate an insurer’s corporate and financial affairs and the necessary resources to carry out that authority.

“Accreditation is particularly important for our domestic insurers,” Marilyn Duke, director of financial standards and examination at KOI said. “It allows them to be recognized by other states as having met specific financial standards, which streamlines the regulatory process.”

KOI is an agency of the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet.