South-eastern Underwriters Association (SEUA) Case
Important 1944 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the insurance business constituted interstate commerce and was thus subject to the SHERMAN antitrust act. This decision came in U.S. v. South-Eastern Underwriters Association, a price-fixing case, brought against a fire insurance rate-making group by the U.S. Attorney General, at the urging of the state of Missouri. SEUA relied for its defense on the 1869 Paul v. Virginia decision by the Supreme Court that insurance activities were not commerce and the Sherman Act did not apply. The high court subsequently accepted the argument that the industry was subject to the antitrust law. In response, Congress passed the MCCARRAN-FERGUSON act (public law 15) in 1945, in effect overruling the court by stating affirmatively that regulation of insurance was the job of the states, not the federal government. The law exempted insurance from federal antitrust rules if it was covered by state regulation.
Popular Insurance Terms
Type of policy with premiums that are fully paid up within a stated period. For example, a 20-payment life insurance policy has 20 annual premium payments, with no further premiums to be ...
Defined contribution pension plan in which employer contributions are set under a collective bargaining agreement. It usually covers the employees of a number of firms and is administered ...
Amount of loss that insured pays in a claim; includes the following types: Absolute dollar amount. Amount the insured must pay before the company will pay, up to the limits of the policy. ...
Form of stock ownership that permits the stockholder to select a beneficiary to receive the stock upon the death of the stockholder. The stockholder retains all rights of stock ownership ...
Endorsement to the special multiperil insurance (smp) policy that provides all risks damage coverage for personal property. There are special limitations on amounts of coverage for furs, ...
Decision in the absence of a plaintiff or defendant at the specified court time. ...
Employees participating in and covered under an employee benefit insurance plan. ...
Provision for known claims due but not paid, known claims not yet due, and provision for incurred but not reported (IBNR) claims. The critical problem facing a casualty insurance company is ...
Value of loss resulting from loss of use of property. For example, a fire damages the structure of business premises and the business loses customer income until it can reopen. The loss in ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.