[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 110 (Thursday, June 6, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48366-48367]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-12458]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Economic Analysis


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Services Surveys: BE-45, Quarterly Survey of Insurance 
Transactions by U.S. Insurance Companies With Foreign Persons

AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to comment on proposed and continuing information 
collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information 
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The 
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment 
preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed 
information collection must be received on or before August 5, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to 
Christopher Stein, Chief, Services Surveys Branch, Bureau of Economic 
Analysis, by email to [email protected] or [email protected]. 
Please reference OMB Control Number 0608-0066 in the subject line of 
your comments. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed 
to Christopher Stein, Chief, Services Surveys Branch, Bureau of 
Economic Analysis; 301-278-9189; or via email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Quarterly Survey of Insurance Transactions by U.S. Insurance 
Companies with Foreign Persons (Form BE-45) is an ongoing survey that 
collects data from U.S. persons who engage in covered insurance 
transactions. A U.S. person means any individual, branch, partnership, 
associated group, association, estate, trust, corporation, or other 
organization (whether or not organized under the laws of any State), 
resident in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the 
United States. A U.S. person must report if they had combined 
transactions in the covered insurance services with foreign persons 
that exceeded $8 million (based on absolute value) for the previous 
calendar year or are expected to exceed that amount during the current 
calendar year.
    The data are needed to monitor U.S. trade in insurance services, to 
analyze the impact of these cross-border services on the U.S. and 
foreign economies, to compile and improve the U.S. economic accounts, 
to support U.S. commercial policy on trade in services, to conduct 
trade promotion, and to improve the ability of U.S. businesses to 
identify and evaluate market opportunities. The data are used in 
estimating the trade in insurance services component of the U.S. 
international transactions accounts (ITAs) and national income and 
product accounts (NIPAs).
    The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is proposing a minor 
modification to the survey beginning with reporting for the first 
quarter of 2025 to further align BEA's statistics with international 
statistical guidelines and to further improve BEA's insurance services 
transactions statistics, increasing the quality and usefulness of BEA's 
statistics on trade in insurance services.
    BEA proposes to modify question 4 on the BE-45 quarterly survey to 
collect the reporter's principal line of insurance using the same four 
categories that were added to and collected on question 11 of the 2023 
BE-140 Benchmark Survey of Insurance Transactions by U.S. Insurance 
Companies with Foreign Persons. The BE-140 survey is a mandatory 
periodic survey, conducted every five years that collects data from all 
U.S. persons who engage in international trade in covered insurance 
transactions, covers the universe of transactions in insurance services 
with foreign persons, and is BEA's most comprehensive survey of such 
transactions. Survey responses are required from U.S. persons subject 
to the reporting requirements of the BE-140, whether or not they are 
contacted by BEA, to ensure complete coverage of transactions in 
insurance services between U.S. and foreign persons. A screener 
question will also be added to the BE-45 survey to ensure only 
reporters of primary insurance respond to the modified question.
    BEA estimates there will be no change in the average number of 
burden hours per response by the modification and addition of the 
checkbox questions as this information is readily available to 
respondents. BEA does not plan to change the exemption levels used for 
the current quarterly survey. The language in the instructions and 
definitions will be reviewed and adjusted as necessary to clarify 
survey requirements.

II. Method of Collection

    BEA contacts potential respondents by mail at the end of each 
quarter. Respondents would be required to file the completed BE-45 
forms within 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter and within 
45 days after the close of the calendar year. Reports would be required 
from each U.S. person that had combined transactions in the covered 
insurance services with foreign persons that exceeded $8 million (based 
on absolute value), for the previous calendar year or are expected to 
exceed that amount during the current calendar year. Entities required 
to report will be contacted individually by BEA. Entities not contacted 
by BEA have no reporting responsibilities.
    BEA offers its electronic filing option, the eFile system, for use 
in reporting on Form BE-45. For more information about eFile, go to 
www.bea.gov/efile. In addition, BEA posts all its survey forms and 
reporting instructions on its website, www.bea.gov/ssb. These may be 
downloaded, completed, printed, and submitted via fax or mail.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0608-0066.
    Form Number(s): BE-45.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 2,200 annually (550 filed each 
quarter; 515 reporting mandatory data, and 35 that would file exemption 
claims or voluntary responses).
    Estimated Time per Response: 9 hours is the average for the 515 
respondents filing mandatory data and 1 hour for those filing an 
exemption claim or other response. Hours may vary considerably among 
respondents because of differences in company size and complexity.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 18,680.

[[Page 48367]]

    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: International Investment and Trade in Services 
Survey Act (Pub. L. 94-472, 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108, as amended).

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (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 Agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request 
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone 
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in 
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including 
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available 
at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your 
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-12458 Filed 6-5-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-P