The National Association of Insurance Commissioners published prepared remarks from NAIC President and Virginia Insurance Commissioner Scott A. White’s keynote opening the 2026 Spring National Meeting, setting out strategic priorities focused on property risk mitigation and market transparency, implementation-focused oversight of insurers’ use of artificial intelligence, and supervisory responses to the changing investment and reinsurance profile of life insurers. On catastrophe resiliency, White highlighted state insurance department risk-mitigation grant programs supported by the NAIC’s CAT Center of Excellence, now involving more than 20 departments, and cited Louisiana’s support for about 4,500 of the state’s 11,000 Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety FORTIFIED roofs. He also pointed to commissioners’ visit to Dixon Trail in Escondido, California, described as the first development built to the IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home neighborhood-level standard. On affordability and availability, he previewed an updated Homeowners Market Data Call that will collect 2025 data back to 2018, expand coverage to roughly 98% of the market in most states, extend beyond traditional homeowners policies, and provide ZIP-code-level detail with additional state-specific fields such as wildfire deductibles and hazard-related non-renewals. On AI, White said the NAIC is moving from principles and a model bulletin to implementation through an AI Systems Evaluation Tool intended to give departments a structured way to assess insurers’ AI governance during examinations. On life insurer risks, he pointed to the RBC Model Governance Task Force’s work to identify potential gaps in risk-based capital formulas as investment allocations shift toward alternative assets, and referenced a rule adopted last year to test reserve adequacy and increase transparency for offshore reinsurance backing US policyholder obligations. Next steps include a June submission deadline for the Homeowners Market Data Call data and a planned public report in early 2027 after input from interested parties. The AI Systems Evaluation Tool is in an early-stage pilot this year, with the NAIC aiming to refine it and seek adoption by the Fall National Meeting. White also said the NAIC is launching a market regulation initiative through the Market Regulation and Consumer Affairs (D) Committee, led by Directors Gillespie and Nelson, with proposed recommendations for enhancements expected later this year.

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