U.S. Insurers Hope for Treasury Fix to Keep Foreign Business

U.S. insurance companies, like Prudential and Chubb, warn they need Treasury to create a carve-out for the industry under an anti-base erosion tax—or they’ll risk losing business to foreign competitors.

U.S. insurers that reinsure the risks of their foreign affiliates face a 10% tax on some payouts if the Treasury Department doesn’t draft an exclusion that prevents certain payments from increasing their liability under the 2017 tax overhaul’s base erosion and anti-abuse tax (BEAT).

The tax is intended to stop large U.S. multinationals from shifting profits overseas through “excessive” deductible payments to foreign affiliates—which generally wouldn’t be subject to ...