What Every Insurance Executive Needs to Know About Dodd-Frank (in Less Than 40 Pages)

The most significant overhaul to the U.S. financial services industry since the passage of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999, the new Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act holds major implications for the insurance industry.

For starters, Title V of Dodd-Frank establishes the Federal Insurance Office, which is charged with gathering information from insurance companies in order to spot potential gaps in insurance regulation that may harm consumers. And other, less-explicit implications of the Act for insurers can be found in provisions more directly targeted to the banking and capital markets industries, such as the legislation's take on the still-contentious "Too Big to Fail" issue and the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Although there are likely to be many changes in Dodd-Frank's provisions, it is clear that insurers are going to have to respond to more stringent requirements for transaction transparency, reporting and accountability. This has tremendous implications for insurance IT organizations, which will be charged with enhancing capabilities in data management and analysis, risk management, reporting, and compliance, regardless of the long-term prospects for Dodd-Frank.

The Dodd-Frank Cheat Sheet, prepared by the Insurance & Technology editorial team in partnership with editors across the InformationWeek Financial Services group, is a synthesis of the legislation's nearly 1,000 pages, highlighting the Act's key provisions, deliverables and IT implications. While the Cheat Sheet isn't a substitute for reading the entire legislation, the interactive tool will help you make sense of this historic piece of regulation -- in less than 40 pages.

The Dodd-Frank Cheat Sheet is available for free -- just click the button at the bottom of the page. If you haven't already signed up for exclusive digital content from Insurance & Technology or from one of our sibling brands in the InformationWeek Business Technology Network, you'll be asked to register. (Membership is free and takes only a few minutes.)