[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 250 (Wednesday, December 31, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 75408-75409]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-32123]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Economic Analysis

15 CFR Part 801

[Docket No. 030910227-3318-02]
RIN 0691-AA53


International Services Surveys: BE-45, Quarterly Survey of 
Insurance Transactions by U.S. Insurance Companies with Foreign Persons

AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This final rule amends regulations that set forth the 
reporting requirements for the BE-45, Quarterly Survey of Insurance 
Transactions by U.S. Insurance Companies with Foreign Persons.
    The survey is mandatory and will be conducted by the Bureau of 
Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. Department of Commerce, under the 
International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act. The first 
survey conducted under this rule will cover transactions in the first 
quarter of 2004. Data from the BE-45 survey are needed to monitor trade 
in insurance services, analyze its impact on the U.S. and foreign 
economies, compile and improve the U.S. economic accounts, support U.S. 
commercial policy on financial services, conduct trade promotion, 
improve the ability of U.S. businesses to identify and evaluate market 
opportunities, and for other government uses.
    The survey will cover the same insurance services presently covered 
by the BE-48, Annual Survey of Reinsurance and Other Insurance 
Transactions by U.S. Insurance Companies with Foreign Persons, and 
auxiliary insurance services presently covered by the Benchmark and 
Annual Surveys of Selected Services Transactions with Unaffiliated 
Foreign Persons (Forms BE-20 and BE-22).

EFFECTIVE DATE: This final rule will be effective January 30, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Obie G. Whichard, Chief, International 
Investment Division (BE-50), Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; or via the Internet at 
[email protected] (telephone (202) 606-9890).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the September 23, 2003, Federal Register, 
(68 FR 55202-55204), BEA published a notice of proposed rulemaking 
setting forth reporting requirements for the BE-45, Quarterly Survey of 
Insurance Transactions by U.S. Insurance Companies with Foreign 
Persons. No comments on the proposed rule were received. Thus, the 
proposed rule is adopted without change.
    The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. Department of Commerce, 
will conduct the survey under the International Investment and Trade in 
Services Survey Act (22 U.S.C. 3101-3108). Section 4(a) of the Act (22 
U.S.C. 3103(a)) provides that the President shall, to the extent he 
deems necessary and feasible, conduct a regular data collection program 
to secure current information related to international investment and 
trade in services and publish for the use of the general public and 
United States government agencies periodic, regular, and comprehensive 
statistical information collected pursuant to this subsection. In 
section 3 of Executive Order 11961, as amended by Executive Order 
12518, the President delegated authority granted under the Act as 
concerns international trade in services to the Secretary of Commerce, 
who has redelegated it to BEA.
    The major purposes of the survey are to monitor trade in insurance 
services, analyze its impact on the U.S. and foreign economies, compile 
and improve the U.S. economic accounts, support U.S. commercial policy 
on insurance services, conduct trade promotion, and improve the ability 
of U.S. businesses to identify and evaluate market opportunities.
    The first survey conducted under this rule will cover transactions 
in the first quarter 2004. BEA will send the survey to potential 
respondents in March of 2004; responses will be due by May 30, 2004. 
The survey will update the data provided on the universe of insurance 
services transactions between U.S. insurance companies and foreign 
persons. Reporting is required from U.S. insurance companies whose 
covered transactions with foreign persons exceeded $8 million for the 
previous fiscal year, or are expected to exceed that amount during the 
current fiscal year. In addition, the reporting threshold for this 
survey is applied separately to each of the eight individual types of 
transactions covered by the survey rather than to the sum of the data 
for all eight types combined. Insurance companies meeting these 
criteria must supply data on the amount of their insurance transactions 
for each type of insurance category, disaggregated by country. U.S. 
insurance companies that do not meet the mandatory reporting 
requirements are requested to provide voluntary estimates of their 
covered insurance transactions.

[[Page 75409]]

    The transactions covered by this survey are: reinsurance premiums 
received, reinsurance premiums paid, reinsurance losses paid, 
reinsurance losses recovered, primary insurance premiums received, 
primary insurance losses paid, auxiliary insurance services receipts, 
and auxiliary insurance services payments. (Auxiliary insurance 
services include agent's commissions, insurance brokering and agency 
services, insurance consulting services, evaluation and adjustment 
services, actuarial services, salvage administration services, and 
regulatory and monitoring services on indemnities and recovery 
services.)

Executive Order 12866

    This final rule is not significant for purposes of E.O. 12866.

Executive Order 13132

    This final rule does not contain policies with federalism 
implications as that term is defined in E.O. 13132.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The collection of information required in this final rule has been 
approved by the Office of Management and Budget under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act. Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, no 
person is required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a 
penalty for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject 
to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that 
collection displays a currently valid OMB Control Number; such a 
Control Number (0608-0066) will be displayed.
    The BE-45 survey is expected to result in the filing of 
approximately 210 reports on a quarterly basis, or 840 responses 
annually, and the average respondent burden for completing the survey 
is estimated at 8 hours. Thus, the total respondent burden of the 
survey is estimated at about 6,720 hours (840 responses times 8 hours 
average burden). The actual burden will vary from reporter to reporter, 
depending upon the number and variety of their insurance transactions 
and the ease of assembling the data. This estimate includes time for 
respondents to review the instructions, search existing data sources, 
gather and maintain the data needed, and complete and review the 
collection of information.
    Comments regarding the burden estimate or any aspect of this 
collection of information should be addressed to: Director, Bureau of 
Economic Analysis (BE-1), U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 
20230; or faxed (202-395-7245) or e-mailed ([email protected]) to the 
Office of Management and Budget, O.I.R.A., (Attention PRA Desk Officer 
for BEA).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Chief Counsel for Regulation, Department of Commerce, has 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy, Small Business 
Administration, under provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 
U.S.C. 605(b)), that this rule will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities as that term is 
defined in the Regulatory Flexibility Act. The factual basis for the 
certification was published with the proposed rule. No comments were 
received regarding the economic impact of the rule. As a result, no 
final regulatory flexibility analysis was prepared.

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 801

    Economic statistics, International transactions, Foreign trade, 
Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: December 10, 2003.
J. Steven Landefeld,
Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis.

0
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, BEA amends 15 CFR part 801, 
as follows:

PART 801--SURVEY OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN SERVICES BETWEEN U.S. 
AND FOREIGN PERSONS

0
1. The authority citation for 15 CFR part 801 continues to read as 
follows:


    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 15 U.S.C. 4908; 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108; 
E.O. 11961, 3 CFR, 1977 Comp., p. 86 as amended by E.O. 12013, 3 
CFR, 1977 Comp., p. 147, E.O. 12318, 3 CFR, 1981 Comp., p. 173, and 
E.O. 12518 3 CFR, 1985 Comp., p. 348.


0
2. Section 801.9 is amended by adding new paragraph (c)(5) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  801.9  Reports required.

    (c) Quarterly surveys. * * *
    (5) BE-45, Quarterly Survey of Insurance Transactions by U.S. 
Insurance Companies with Foreign Persons:
    (i) A BE-45, Quarterly Survey of Insurance Transactions by U.S. 
Insurance Companies with Foreign Persons, will be conducted covering 
the first quarter of the 2004 calendar year and every quarter 
thereafter.
    (A) Who must report--(1) Mandatory reporting. Reports are required 
from each U.S. insurance company whose covered transactions with 
foreign persons exceeded $8 million for the previous fiscal year or are 
expected to exceed that amount during the current fiscal year. This 
threshold is applied separately to each of the eight individual types 
of transactions covered by the survey rather than to the sum of the 
data for all eight types combined. Quarterly reports for a year may be 
required retroactively when it is determined that the exemption level 
has been exceeded.
    (2) Voluntary reporting. Reports are requested from each U.S. 
insurance company whose covered transactions with foreign persons were 
$8 million or less for the previous fiscal year and are not expected to 
exceed the $8 million amount during the current fiscal year. Provision 
of this information is voluntary. The estimates may be based on recall, 
without conducting a detailed records search.
    (B) Any person receiving a BE-45 survey form from BEA must complete 
all relevant parts of the form and return the form to BEA. A person not 
subject to the mandatory reporting requirement in paragraph 
(c)(5)(i)(A) of this section and is not filing information on a 
voluntary basis must only complete the ``Determination of reporting 
status'' and the ``Certification'' sections of the survey. This 
requirement is necessary to ensure compliance with the reporting 
requirements and efficient administration of the survey by eliminating 
unnecessary followup contact.
    (C) Covered insurance transactions. The transactions covered by 
this survey are: reinsurance premiums received, reinsurance premiums 
paid, reinsurance losses paid, reinsurance losses recovered, primary 
insurance premiums received, primary insurance losses paid, auxiliary 
insurance services receipts, and auxiliary insurance services payments. 
(Auxiliary insurance services include agent's commissions, insurance 
brokering and agency services, insurance consulting services, 
evaluation and adjustment services, actuarial services, salvage 
administration services, and regulatory and monitoring services on 
indemnities and recovery services.)
    (ii) [Reserved]
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 03-32123 Filed 12-30-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-P