Poizner asks California insurers to divest billions in Iran holdings - Los Angeles Business from bizjournals:

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“State law prohibits California insurance companies from investinv in countries designated as state sponsorwof terrorism,” Poizner said in a June 29 “I have directed California insurers to divest of Iranian government holdings and ordered a survey of theser insurance companies to ensurre compliance with the law. Additionally, I am requiring all insuranc e companies that do business in Californi a todisclose what, if any, indirecrt investments they have in Iran. The move came as Iran’ds government faces continuing internal and external scrutiny of its presidentiakl election twoweeks ago.
Poizner said he’s specifically asking Golden State-bases insurers to report any investments they have with companies that didbusinesss “with the defense, nuclear, natural gas or banking sectors of the Iranian economy as of Marcnh 31.” To protect California consumers, the California Departmeng of Insurance will also closely evaluate any indirec investments by California-based insurers in Iran to “makee sure that they are safe and the department said. The Departmenf of Insurance said Monday that a preliminary analysis shows that Californiaz insurance companies have tens of billionse of dollars invested in companies with substantiakl businessin Iran.
The DOI called insurance companiees “the largest investor groupl in theglobal economy,” with an estimatexd $3 trillion to $4 trillion in worldwidew investments. According to DOI officials, California’s insurancs code specifically prohibits any investmenr in aforeign jurisdiction, or any investment in that foreign jurisdiction’ws currency, if that jurisdiction is designatef by the U.S. government as a state sponsodrof terrorism. This section of the code took effectt Jan. 1, according to DOI. The insurancwe code also authorizes the commissioner to evaluate the of investments by Californiainsurance companies.
Shouldd the Commissioner hold a hearing and find the investments to be he canorder divestment. The department said the survey’zs goal is to determine each California insurer’s levell of indirect investment in specific sectors of the Iranian economy as well as directg investments in the Iranian Each insurer licensed to do businesw in California will be required to list any investmenf in a company thatconductas $20 million or more of business in the Iranian petroleuj or natural gas sectors, or investmentd of any amount in companiezs doing business in Iran’s banking, or defense sectors, including activities relating to the productionm of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons and technologies.
Those reports will be due in approximatelyt90 days, the DOI said. This California regulatorty action willjoin “an existinb array of global and local economic and trade sanctions alreadyg in place against Iran,” the DOI statementg said, including measures by Congress, the European Unionb and the states of Missouri, Texas and California has taken similar measures in the past by directiny the state’s two enormous public pension fundzs to divest Iranian investments.
“We need to strictlty enforce every sanction that is currently in place against the governmentg of Iran and send a clear messagesto Tehran’s oppressive leadership that we as a nationn stand as one,” said Poizner, who is a contender for the Republican gubernatorial nomination to succeed Gov. Arnols Schwarzenegger. “I call on my fellow stat Insurance Commissioners to launch similar investigations in their I will share relevant information we collectr with federal and other government officials and agenciesw as appropriate if we detect suspected violations of federal orstate laws.
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