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
Medical malpractice that is the legal responsibility of a person or organization not in the medical profession or business. It is usually covered under a professional liability insurance ...
request by an insured for indemnification by an insurance company for loss incurred from an insured peril. ...
Individual retirement account (IRA) established to receive distribution of assets from a qualified pension or retirement plan. For example, if employees resign from their jobs and receive a ...
Maintenance of Social Security benefits at current dollar or percentage levels. Social Security benefits are indexed to the Consumer Price Index and rise in tandem with the Index. A benefit ...
Qualified pension or other employee benefit where responsibility rests with an employer rather than an insurer. A trust fund plan, where assets are deposited with and invested by a trustee, ...
In property insurance, a stipulated agreement between the insurance company and the insured that the amount of insurance coverage under the policy is sufficient to be in compliance with the ...
Inland marine policy addition that provides coverage to owners of sheep, and to warehouseowners who store wool as well as wool in transit. ...
Amount of the insurance company's liabilities for claims that have not been settled. If this reserve increases significantly in relation to the company's surplus, the risk is greater for ...
Life insurance contract that pays its owner dividends, which can be: taken as cash; applied to reduce a premium; applied to purchase an increment of paid-up insurance; left on deposit ...
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