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Trade negotiators have begun to reduce international barriers to trade in services, but so far they have largely neglected insurance services, a financial sector that undergirds prosperity around the world and provides invaluable support for developing economies. In this study, Harold Skipper first gives a comprehensive description of the global insurance industry and its role in economic development and then details the current state of international agreements that govern trade in insurance. He concludes by assessing the additional steps needed to liberalize that trade, which include securing deeper and more widespread commitments to greater market access and adopting regulatory principles that ensure impartiality, adequate consumer protection, transparency, and minimal intrusiveness. If financial services agreements are strengthened in this way, more efficient markets will enhance consumer choice and value and also benefit each country's interests.

Insurance in the General Agreement on Trade in Services is one in a series of new AEI studies on negotiations to liberalize trade in services. Each study focuses on a particular service sector, identifies the major obstacles to liberalization in that area, and presents policy options for trade negotiators and interested private sector participants.

Harold J. Skipper Jr. holds the C. V. Starr Chair of International Insurance at Georgia State University. He has served as vice president of the International Insurance Society and as an economic affairs officer with the United Nations, and has published widely on insurance and regulation.