NEW YORK (Reuters) - A group in the US working for state insurance regulators has green-lighted several proposals submitted by the life-insurance industry in recent weeks aimed at lowering insurers' capital and reserve requirements, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website yesterday.

Actuaries and other technical experts at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) gave the go-ahead to several of nine proposals, the paper reported.

The NAIC has said it could revamp life insurers' regulatory capital requirements to eliminate redundancies in reserve requirements, and adjust risk based-capital requirements, among other changes suggested by the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), a trade group. The ACLI said the changes, which it asked be introduced by year end, would allow life insurers to "reallocate funds for liquidity and capitalisation purposes".

The ACLI estimates the changes would free up $22 billion to $28 billion industry-wide, the Journal said. Life insurers are seeking ways to bolster cash after large investment losses in the last quarter eroded capital, and sapped investor hopes that the sector would emerge from the credit crisis without large wounds.