“Rates,” says Joseph Barcinas, risk analysis manager at Takagi and Associates Inc., “May be introduced through the Insurance Association of Guam, which is comprised of agency officials or members who represent various admitted insurers transacting insurance coverage in Guam. Premium and loss data compiled from admitted insurers are usually reviewed and analyzed by an independent actuary. Proposed rate filings from the IAG are then submitted to the insurance commissioner and the Banking and Insurance Board for further review and consideration. A public hearing may follow to address concerns from the general public prior to submission to the legislature and governor for their review.”

The position of the banking and insurance commissioner was created in 2004 under the auspices of the Department of Revenue and Taxation, when Artemio B. Ilagan was still serving as director. He was appointed to the position in May 2011.

The role of the commissioner on the insurance end is to regulate the insurance industry to ensure companies and subagents are qualified to be selling insurance on Guam.

“If at any time you are approached by an agent you are unsure of,” Ilagan says, “please come visit us at Rev and Tax. We will be able to verify whether or not the agent is an admitted insurer here.”

Companies must be admitted to the territory under Ilagan’s authority, and once admitted, his office conducts audits to make sure the companies are financially sound. Ilagan is then co-TCD holder with the insurance company on an account in which 10% of premiums is deposited. The remaining 90% is reinsured.

Among the challenges Ilagan faced were a backlog of annual reports due to the legislature. He recently completed all of the banking reports and is now just a year behind with the insurance reports.

His next priority is to automate some of his office’s routine services, so that by June, insurance companies, agents and subagents can renew their licenses online.

Sen. Michael San Nicolas, chairman of the Committee on Aviation, Ground Transportation, Regulatory Concerns and Future Generations, looks forward to setting his eye on the insurance and banking side of the house after having spent much of his term focused on outstanding balances due to the government. The senator says he is also concerned with the licensing of insurance agents and companies, as he found the procedures and requirements to be inconsistent across the board.

“For example,” San Nicolas says, “we just had an instance in which a particular insurance company wasn’t filing the necessary reports, and we had to take them to task on that.”