Insurers are doing what they can to shape the next negotiating round for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which is set to begin the week of July 11.

The TTIP is designed to boost insurance trade and investment between the United States and the European Union. With that in mind, the American Insurance Association, Insurance Europe and the American Council of Life Insurers issued a new statement reiterating their support for full inclusion of insurance and other financial services in the treaty.

“The TTIP can increase insurance trade and investment between the United States and European Union, set a high standard for future trade negotiations with third parties, and facilitate dialogue between regulators on both sides of the Atlantic,” the organizations’ joint statement asserts.

With those possible benefits in the groups’ collective minds, they said “a successful TTIP must include insurance trade, investment and regulatory cooperation.”

The three groups stress that see as a good thing ongoing negotiations such as discussions for an international covered agreement on specific insurance matters. But they see the TTIP as something that could “create enduring structures for broad, ongoing regulatory cooperation” that builds on those other regulatory discussions.

While the next TTIP negotiating round begins the week of July 1, services-specific TTIP negotiations should follow during the week of July 18.

Source: American Insurance Association, Insurance Europe, American Council of Life Insurers.