Notice2024-12458
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Services Surveys: BE-45, Quarterly Survey of Insurance Transactions by U.S. Insurance Companies With Foreign Persons
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
June 6, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentEconomic Analysis Bureau
Abstract
The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 110 (Thursday, June 6, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 110 (Thursday, June 6, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48366-48367]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-12458]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Bureau of Economic Analysis
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Services Surveys: BE-45, Quarterly Survey of Insurance
Transactions by U.S. Insurance Companies With Foreign Persons
AGENCY: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other
Federal agencies to comment on proposed and continuing information
collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment
preceding submission of the collection to OMB.
DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed
information collection must be received on or before August 5, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to
Christopher Stein, Chief, Services Surveys Branch, Bureau of Economic
Analysis, by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5b38332932282f342b333e2975282f3e32351b393e3a753c342d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="17747f657e646378677f7265396463727e795775727639707861">[email protected]</span></a> or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7f2f2d3e1c1012121a110b0c3f1d1a1e51181009"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ce9e9c8fada1a3a3aba0babd8eacabafe0a9a1b8">[email protected]</span></a>.
Please reference OMB Control Number 0608-0066 in the subject line of
your comments. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or
otherwise sensitive or protected information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed
to Christopher Stein, Chief, Services Surveys Branch, Bureau of
Economic Analysis; 301-278-9189; or via email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b7d4dfc5dec4c3d8c7dfd2c599c4c3d2ded9f7d5d2d699d0d8c1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ee8d869c879d9a819e868b9cc09d9a8b8780ae8c8b8fc0898198">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The Quarterly Survey of Insurance Transactions by U.S. Insurance
Companies with Foreign Persons (Form BE-45) is an ongoing survey that
collects data from U.S. persons who engage in covered insurance
transactions. A U.S. person means any individual, branch, partnership,
associated group, association, estate, trust, corporation, or other
organization (whether or not organized under the laws of any State),
resident in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the
United States. A U.S. person must report if they had combined
transactions in the covered insurance services with foreign persons
that exceeded $8 million (based on absolute value) for the previous
calendar year or are expected to exceed that amount during the current
calendar year.
The data are needed to monitor U.S. trade in insurance services, to
analyze the impact of these cross-border services on the U.S. and
foreign economies, to compile and improve the U.S. economic accounts,
to support U.S. commercial policy on trade in services, to conduct
trade promotion, and to improve the ability of U.S. businesses to
identify and evaluate market opportunities. The data are used in
estimating the trade in insurance services component of the U.S.
international transactions accounts (ITAs) and national income and
product accounts (NIPAs).
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is proposing a minor
modification to the survey beginning with reporting for the first
quarter of 2025 to further align BEA's statistics with international
statistical guidelines and to further improve BEA's insurance services
transactions statistics, increasing the quality and usefulness of BEA's
statistics on trade in insurance services.
BEA proposes to modify question 4 on the BE-45 quarterly survey to
collect the reporter's principal line of insurance using the same four
categories that were added to and collected on question 11 of the 2023
BE-140 Benchmark Survey of Insurance Transactions by U.S. Insurance
Companies with Foreign Persons. The BE-140 survey is a mandatory
periodic survey, conducted every five years that collects data from all
U.S. persons who engage in international trade in covered insurance
transactions, covers the universe of transactions in insurance services
with foreign persons, and is BEA's most comprehensive survey of such
transactions. Survey responses are required from U.S. persons subject
to the reporting requirements of the BE-140, whether or not they are
contacted by BEA, to ensure complete coverage of transactions in
insurance services between U.S. and foreign persons. A screener
question will also be added to the BE-45 survey to ensure only
reporters of primary insurance respond to the modified question.
BEA estimates there will be no change in the average number of
burden hours per response by the modification and addition of the
checkbox questions as this information is readily available to
respondents. BEA does not plan to change the exemption levels used for
the current quarterly survey. The language in the instructions and
definitions will be reviewed and adjusted as necessary to clarify
survey requirements.
II. Method of Collection
BEA contacts potential respondents by mail at the end of each
quarter. Respondents would be required to file the completed BE-45
forms within 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter and within
45 days after the close of the calendar year. Reports would be required
from each U.S. person that had combined transactions in the covered
insurance services with foreign persons that exceeded $8 million (based
on absolute value), for the previous calendar year or are expected to
exceed that amount during the current calendar year. Entities required
to report will be contacted individually by BEA. Entities not contacted
by BEA have no reporting responsibilities.
BEA offers its electronic filing option, the eFile system, for use
in reporting on Form BE-45. For more information about eFile, go to
<a href="http://www.bea.gov/efile">www.bea.gov/efile</a>. In addition, BEA posts all its survey forms and
reporting instructions on its website, <a href="http://www.bea.gov/ssb">www.bea.gov/ssb</a>. These may be
downloaded, completed, printed, and submitted via fax or mail.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0608-0066.
Form Number(s): BE-45.
Type of Review: Regular submission.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 2,200 annually (550 filed each
quarter; 515 reporting mandatory data, and 35 that would file exemption
claims or voluntary responses).
Estimated Time per Response: 9 hours is the average for the 515
respondents filing mandatory data and 1 hour for those filing an
exemption claim or other response. Hours may vary considerably among
respondents because of differences in company size and complexity.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 18,680.
[[Page 48367]]
Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.
Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: International Investment and Trade in Services
Survey Act (Pub. L. 94-472, 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108, as amended).
IV. Request for Comments
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the Agency, including whether the information will have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information;
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of
automated collection techniques or other forms of information
technology.
Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available
at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-12458 Filed 6-5-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-06-P
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