Insurers that operate thrifts would be subject to the same capital standards as banks at the holding company level except for certain unique insurance activities under new capital standards being proposed by federal regulators.

The new requirements are contained in a proposal first issued by federal banking regulators for comment in June, the trade publication LifeHealthPro reported.

The comment period was extended from Sept. 7 to Oct. 22 in a notice published Aug. 10.

Under the proposal, special capital treatment for insurers would be only applied to specific activities, such as separate accounts, deferred acquisition costs and insurance underwriting.

The list of insurers includes State Farm Automobile Insurance Co. and Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.

Several of the insurers are seeking to change their status in order to escape oversight by the Fed as thrift holding companies.