[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 68 (Friday, April 10, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 16337-16339]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-8148]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Economic Analysis

15 CFR Part 801

[Docket No. 080731107-81012-01]
RIN 0691-AA69


International Services Surveys: BE-140, Benchmark Survey of 
Insurance Transactions by U.S. Insurance Companies With Foreign Persons

AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This proposed rule would amend regulations of the Bureau of 
Economic Analysis, Department of Commerce (BEA) to set forth the 
reporting requirements for the Benchmark Survey of Insurance 
Transactions by U.S. Insurance Companies with Foreign Persons. This 
proposed rule is for a new survey, which would collect data on cross-
border reinsurance and other insurance transactions from U.S. insurance 
companies. If approved, the survey would be conducted every five years 
with the first survey covering calendar year 2008.
    The data will be used by BEA in estimating the insurance services 
component of the U.S. International Transactions Accounts (ITAs) and 
other economic accounts complied by BEA.

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule will receive consideration if 
submitted in writing on or before 5 p.m. June 9, 2009.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by RIN 0691-AA69, and 
referencing the agency name (Bureau of Economic Analysis), by any of 
the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. For agency, select 
``Commerce Department--all.''
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: Chris Emond, Chief, Special Surveys Branch, (202) 
606-5318.
     Mail: Chris Emond, Chief, Special Surveys Branch, Balance 
of Payments Division, U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic 
Analysis, BE-50, Washington, DC 20230.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Chris Emond, Chief, Special Surveys 
Branch, Balance of Payments Division, U.S. Department of Commerce, 
Bureau of Economic Analysis, BE-50, Shipping and Receiving Section, 
M100, 1441 L Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005.
    Public Inspection: All comments received are a part of the public 
record and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov 
without change. All personal identifying information (for example, 
name, address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commentator may be 
publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential business information or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information. BEA will accept anonymous 
comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Emond, Chief, Special Surveys 
Branch, Balance of Payments Division, (BE-50) Bureau of Economic 
Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230; e-mail 
[email protected]; phone (202) 606-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This proposed rule would amend 15 CFR 
801.9(a) and create 15 CFR 801.12 to add the reporting requirements for 
the BE-140, Benchmark Survey of Insurance Transactions by U.S. 
Insurance Companies with Foreign Persons. This new survey would be 
mandatory for those U.S. insurance companies that exceed the exemption 
level and that engage in the covered transactions. The Department of 
Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and 
respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal 
agencies to comment on proposed and/or continuing information 
collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

Description of Changes

    The proposed survey would be conducted by BEA every five years, 
with the first survey covering calendar year 2008, under the 
International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act (22 U.S.C. 
3101-3108), hereinafter, ``the Act.'' For the initial survey, BEA would 
send the survey to potential respondents in June of 2009; responses 
would be due by September 1, 2009.
    If implemented, the survey would collect information from U.S. 
insurance companies on the following covered transactions: (1) Premiums 
earned, and (2) losses, on reinsurance assumed; (3) premiums incurred, 
and (4) losses, on reinsurance ceded; (5) premiums earned, and (6) 
losses, on primary insurance sold; (7) sales of, and (8) purchases of, 
auxiliary insurance services. The exemption level for the proposed 
survey is $2 million based on one of the eight categories listed above. 
Insurance companies that exceed this threshold must supply data on the 
amount of their insurance transactions for each category, disaggregated 
by country.
    U.S. insurance companies that are exempt from the reporting 
requirements because they do not meet the criteria for reporting the 
BE-140 survey form are requested to provide, on a voluntary basis, the 
estimates of their covered insurance transactions. Any U.S. insurance 
company that receives the BE-140 survey form from BEA, but that does 
not report data because they are exempt under the regulations, must 
provide information on the reason why they do not wish to voluntarily 
provide the requested information. This requirement is necessary to 
ensure compliance with reporting requirements and efficient 
administration of the Act by eliminating unnecessary follow-up contact. 
If a U.S. insurance company does not receive the BE-140 survey form and 
is not otherwise required to report under these regulations, then the 
company is not required to take any action.
    BEA maintains a continuing dialogue with respondents and with data 
users, including its own internal users, to ensure that, as far as 
possible, the required data serve their intended purposes and are 
available from the existing records, that instructions are clear, and 
that unreasonable burdens are not imposed. In reaching decisions on 
what questions to include in the survey, BEA considered the 
Government's need for the data, the burden imposed on

[[Page 16338]]

respondents, the quality of the likely responses (for example, whether 
the data are available on respondents' books), and BEA's experience in 
previous benchmark, annual, and quarterly surveys.

Survey Background

    The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. Department of Commerce, 
would collect the survey under the International Investment and Trade 
in Services Survey Act (22 U.S.C. 3101-3108), hereinafter, ``the Act.'' 
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 
Orders 12318 and 12518, the President delegated the responsibilities 
under the Act for performing functions concerning international trade 
in services to the Secretary of Commerce, who has redelegated them to 
BEA.
    Data from the proposed survey are needed to monitor U.S. exports 
and imports of insurance services and other international insurance 
transactions; analyze their impact on the U.S. and foreign economies; 
compile and improve the U.S. international transactions, national 
income and product, and input-output accounts; support U.S. 
international trade policy on insurance services; assess and promote 
U.S. competitiveness in international trade in services; and improve 
the ability of U.S. business to identify and evaluate market 
opportunities.

Executive Order 12866

    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of E.O. 12866.

Executive Order 13132

    This proposed rule does not contain policies with Federalism 
implications sufficient to warrant preparation of a Federalism 
Assessment under E.O. 13132.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This proposed rule contains a collection-of-information requirement 
subject to review and approval by the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act. The requirement will be 
submitted to OMB as a request for a new collection of information.
    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 Office of Management and Budget Control 
Number.
    The benchmark survey, as proposed, is expected to result in the 
filing of reports from approximately 1000 respondents, approximately 
500 respondents would report mandatory or voluntary data on the survey 
and approximately 500 respondents would not report data. The respondent 
burden for this collection of information would vary from one 
respondent to another, but is estimated to average 8 hours annually, 
including time for reviewing the instructions, searching existing data 
sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and 
reviewing the collection of information for the respondents that file 
mandatory or voluntary data and one hour for respondents that do not 
report data. Thus, the total respondent burden for the survey is 
estimated at 4,500 hours.
    Comments are requested concerning: (a) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the agency, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the burden estimate; (c) 
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on the respondents, including the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or other 
aspects of the collection-of-information requirements contained in the 
proposed rule should be sent both to BEA, through any of the methods 
listed above, and to the Office of Management and Budget, O.I.R.A., 
Paperwork Reduction Project, Attention PRA Desk Officer for BEA, via e-
mail at [email protected], or by FAX at 202-395-7245.

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 proposed rulemaking, if adopted, will not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. While the survey does not collect data on total sales or 
other measures of the overall size of the businesses that respond to 
the survey, historically the respondents to the existing quarterly 
survey of international insurance transactions has been comprised 
mainly of major U.S. corporations. The proposed benchmark survey will 
be required from U.S. insurance companies whose covered transactions 
with foreign persons exceeded $2 million for calendar year 2008. Thus, 
the exemption level will exclude most small businesses from mandatory 
coverage. Any small businesses that may be required to report would 
likely have engaged in only a few covered transactions and so the 
burden on them would be relatively small.

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 801

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

    Dated: April 3, 2009.
J. Steven Landefeld,
Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, BEA proposes to amend 15 
CFR part 801, as follows:

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

    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; 
and E.O. 11961, 3 CFR, 1977 Comp., p.86, as amended by E.O. 12318, 3 
CFR, 1981 Comp., p. 173, and E.O. 12518, 3 CFR, 1985 Comp., p 348.

    2. Revise Sec.  801.9(a) to read as follows:


Sec.  801.9  Reports required.

    (a) Benchmark surveys. Section 4(a)(4) of the Act (22 U.S.C. 3103) 
provides that benchmark surveys of trade in services between U.S. and 
unaffiliated persons be conducted, but not more frequently than every 5 
years. General reporting requirements, exemption levels, and the years 
of coverage for the BE-120 survey may be found in Sec.  801.10; general 
reporting requirements, exemption levels, and the years of coverage for 
the BE-80 survey may be found in Sec.  801.11; and general reporting 
requirements, exemption levels, and the years for coverage for this 
proposed survey may be found in Sec.  801.12. More detailed

[[Page 16339]]

instructions are given on the forms themselves.
* * * * *
    3. Add Sec.  801.12 to read as follows:


Sec.  801.12  Rules and regulations for the BE-140, Benchmark Survey of 
Insurance Transactions by U.S. Insurance Companies with Foreign 
Persons.

    (a) The BE-140, Benchmark Survey of Insurance Transactions by U.S. 
Insurance Companies with Foreign Persons, will be conducted covering 
calendar year 2008 and every fifth year thereafter. All legal 
authorities, provisions, definitions, and requirements contained in 
Sec.  801.1 through Sec.  801.9(a) are applicable to this survey. More 
detailed instructions and descriptions of the individual types of 
transactions covered are given on the report form itself. The BE-140 
consists of three parts and two schedules. Part 1 requests information 
on whom to consult concerning questions about the report and the 
certification section. Part 2 requests information about the reporting 
insurance company. Part 3 requests information needed to determine 
whether a report is required, the types of transactions that would be 
reported, and which schedules apply. Each of the two schedules covers 
the types of insurance services to be reported and the ownership 
relationship between the U.S. insurance company and foreign transactor 
and is to be completed only if the U.S. insurance company has 
transactions of the types covered by the particular schedule.
    (b) Who must report.
    (1) Mandatory reporting. A BE-140 report is required from each U.S. 
insurance company with respect to the transactions listed below, if any 
of the eight items was greater than $2 million or less than negative $2 
million for the calendar year covered by the survey on an accrual 
basis:
    (i) Premiums earned, and
    (ii) Losses, on reinsurance assumed;
    (iii) Premiums incurred, and
    (iv) Losses, on reinsurance ceded;
    (v) Premiums earned, and
    (vi) Losses, on primary insurance sold;
    (vii) Sales of, and
    (viii) Purchases of, auxiliary insurance services. U.S. insurance 
companies that file pursuant to this mandatory reporting requirement 
must complete parts 1 through 3 of Form BE-140 and all applicable 
schedules. The total amounts of transactions applicable to a particular 
schedule are to be entered in the appropriate column(s) and these 
amounts must be distributed among the countries involved in the 
transactions.
    (2) Voluntary reporting. If, during the calendar year covered, the 
U.S. insurance company's transactions do not exceed the exemption level 
for any of the types of transactions covered by the survey, the U.S. 
person is requested to provide an estimate of the total for each type 
of transaction. Submission of this information is voluntary. The 
estimates may be judgmental, that is, based on recall, without 
conducting a detailed records search.
    (3) Any U.S. insurance company that receives the BE-140 survey form 
from BEA, but is not reporting data in either the mandatory or 
voluntary section of the form, must complete Parts 1 through 3 of the 
survey. This requirement is necessary to ensure compliance with 
reporting requirements and efficient administration of the Act by 
eliminating unnecessary follow-up contact.
    (c) Covered types of insurance transactions. The BE-140 survey is 
intended to collect information on U.S. international insurance 
transactions. The types of insurance transactions covered are 
reinsurance assumed from or ceded to insurance companies resident 
abroad, primary insurance sold to foreign persons, and receipts and 
payments of auxiliary insurance services.

 [FR Doc. E9-8148 Filed 4-9-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-P