A lot of people on the campaign trail over the weekend have asked me how the current situation with AIG will affect Delawareans.  So I thought I would take a moment away from stories about the campaign to briefly touch on that issue.

First, the AIG insurance companies that are ‘domiciled’ in Delaware are carefully monitored and are not in financial trouble.  AIG’s parent company—which is not even an insurance company—is the entity that is being bailed out by the federal government.

Second, much of the real impact of AIG in Delaware—on life insurance policyholders with AIG and on people who are employed by AIG—is felt from AIG companies that are actually domiciled in other states.  The AIG insurance companies domiciled in Delaware have very few policyholders or employees in Delaware.  That is why I have spent so much time on the telephone with the other 49 state insurance commissioners over the past week and a half: there is a real national effort underway to ensure that the states work together to guarantee that the AIG insurance companies in each of the states remain sound.

I am going to Washington D.C this week to meet with the other 49 insurance commissioners regarding the AIG situation—which is not over yet.  There are a lot of people in Delaware whose lives are affected by the outcome, and I want to be sure that I am doing everything I can to ensure that they are protected.