American Insurance Association (AIA)

The American Insurance Association (AIA), incorporated in 1866, has served as a leading property and casualty insurance trade organization. As of April 2016, the AIA represents more than 350 insurers that write more than $140 billion in premiums each year. The property and casualty insurance industry is considered a part of the financial sector of the stock market and includes many large insurance companies.

The AIA represents companies on the state, federal and international scope by monitoring legislation on each level. It also serves as a resource for policy makers, the media and the public on certain insurance issues. The AIA has local representation in every state, regional offices in key locations throughout the country and headquarters in Washington, D.C. The AIA has contributed to National Building Codes, highway safety and the enactment of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act in 2002. As of April 19, 2016, the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the AIA is Leigh Ann Pusey.

The function of the AIA is to protect and support its members. The AIA board of directors mobilizes industry resources in various insurance fields to assist with specific issues. The AIA's member companies jointly develop legislative, judicial and regulatory priorities. The members of the AIA have online access to new regulations, bulletins and laws. Members also receive access to the newest data sources, ad hoc studies and legal research tools. The AIA provides members with support in the court system through its legal department. The AIA facilitates meetings between individual member companies and regulatory officials when company-specific issues arise and need resolution.

The AIA customizes daily reports that relate to adopted regulations and department bulletins. It also has a regulatory database and a supplemental Enhanced Legislative Search, which allows its members to search for all insurance-related legislation by any combination of all 261 insurance issues in the AIA database. Another report that the AIA produces relates to newly enacted legislation by issue; it generates 28 specific reports by topic every three weeks. The AIA generates a state-level report to summarize select property and casualty insurance issues, regulations and communications.

The AIA's law department produces charts, surveys and other documents based on jurisdiction. The AIA makes this research available at any member's request. The AIA's research includes compilations of laws, analyses of specialized policies and specific regulatory issues. The AIA also compiles a research catalog for its members.