E6-9686. Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

The Department of Commerce (DOC) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

Agency: Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Commerce.

Title: Quarterly Survey of Insurance Transactions by U.S. Insurance Companies with Foreign Persons.

Form Number(s): BE-45.

Agency Approval Number: 0608-0066.

Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Burden: 7,200 hours.

Number of Respondents: 225 per quarter, 900 annually.

Average Hours Per Response: 8 hours.

Needs and Uses: The BE-45, Quarterly Survey of Insurance Transactions by U.S. Insurance Companies with Foreign Persons, obtains quarterly data from U.S. insurance companies that have engaged in reinsurance transactions with foreign persons, that have earned premiums from, or incurred losses to, foreign persons in the capacity of primary insurers, or that have engaged in auxiliary insurance services transactions with foreign persons. The data are needed to monitor U.S. international trade in insurance services, analyze its impact on the U.S. and foreign economies, compile and improve the U.S. economic accounts, support U.S. commercial policy on insurance services, conduct trade promotion, and improve the ability of U.S. businesses to identify and evaluate market opportunities.

The data from the survey are primarily intended as general purpose statistics. They are needed to answer any number of research and policy questions related to cross-border trade in services.

Affected Public: U.S. insurance companies that transact with foreign persons in insurance services.

Frequency: Quarterly.

Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.

Legal Authority: International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act (Pub. L. 94-472, 22 U.S.C. 3101-3108).

OMB Desk Officer: Paul Bugg, [phone].

You may obtain copies of the above information collection proposal by calling or writing Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6625, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230, or e-mail [e-mail].

Send comments on the proposed information collection within 30 days of publication of this notice to the Office of Management and Budget, O.I.R.A., Attention PRA Desk Officer for BEA, e-mail [e-mail], or by FAX at 202-395-7245.

Dated: June 15, 2006.

Madeleine Clayton,

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.