State Supervision And Regulation
Primary responsibility for overseeing the insurance industry that has rested with individual states since 1945, after Congress passed the MCCARRAN-FERGUSON ACT (PUBLIC LAW 15). In addition to supervision and regulation, states receive taxes and fees paid by the industry that amount to several billion dollars a year. State insurance laws are administered by state insurance departments that are responsible for making certain that (1) rates are adequate, not unfairly discriminatory, and not unreasonably high, and (2) insurance companies in the state are financially sound and able to pay future claims. To this end, states set requirements for company reserves, require annual financial statements, and examine company books. Each state has an insurance commissioner or superintendent who is either elected or appointed by the governor, with responsibility for investigating company practices, approving rates and policy forms, and ordering liquidation of insolvent insurers. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INSURANCE COMMISSIONERS (NAIC) has drafted model legislation and worked for policy uniformity, but regulations vary widely from state to state.
Whether insurers should be regulated by the states or the federal government remains at issue, but so far insurers and the NAIC lobbying have been effective in resisting federal regulation. Nevertheless, the federal government has a profound effect on the insurance industry through its taxes and a variety of regulations.
Popular Insurance Terms
Enacted on April 1, 1997; provides protection against creditors for irrevocable trusts provided that the trust has a grantor who is a discretionary beneficiary. In order for the statute of ...
Sum provided by a disability income insurance that pays a multiple of the monthly indemnity to cover the costs associated with a retraining course attended by the insured wage earner when ...
Under Section 1035 of the Internal Revenue Code, stipulation that the exchange of one life insurance policy for another life insurance policy will generally not result in a recognized gain ...
Insurance for owners and operators of private, municipal, or commercial airports, as well as fixed-base operators, against claims resulting from injuries to members of the general public or ...
Coverage for the insured in the event that the insured's negligent acts and/or omissions result in losses in connection with the use, ownership, or maintenance of aircraft. Liability ...
Type of coverage in which an insured's own policy provides indemnity for bodily injury and/or property damage without regard to fault. In many instances it is difficult if not impossible to ...
Same as term Concurrency: in which at least two insurance policies provide identical coverage for the same risk. ...
Clause in a reinsurance policy that excludes the reinsurer's liability for losses occurring after a stipulated date. ...
Expense listed on the Income and Expenditure accounting statement for the unexpired insurance policy owned. ...
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