Global Trade Alert

On March 7, 2014 the governor of Virginia signed into law a bill (HB466) that expands the scope of foreign investments that may be made by insurance companies. The new law increases the portion of a domestic insurer's total admitted assets that may be invested in permitted securities of a foreign country from 10 to 15 percent.
 
The measure also increases the aggregate amount of securities of a single foreign country in which a domestic insurer may invest from 3 percent to 5 percent of the insurer's admitted assets if the foreign jurisdiction has a sovereign debt rating of SVO 1. If the foreign jurisdiction's sovereign debt rating is not SVO 1, the maximum amount of its securities in which the insurer may invest remains 3 percent.
 
Finally, the measure allows investments in securities of foreign jurisdictions to be payable in currencies of foreign countries if the investment is effectively hedged, substantially in its entirety, against U.S. currency.