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
Coverage in the event a safe of a business is forceably entered, either on or off the premises, and property is stolen from the safe. Also covered is damage to the premises during actual or ...
State laws that prohibit for an unreasonable period of time the accumulation of income under the option modes of settlement of a life insurance policy unless the beneficiary of the policy ...
Actions not allowed between a trust and a disqualified person under the employee retirement income security act of 1974 (erisa). The disallowed actions are designed to prevent a conflict of ...
Prepaid group health insurance plan that entitles members to services of participating physicians, hospitals, and clinics. Emphasis is on preventive medicine. Members of the HMO pay a flat ...
Package coverage for a dwelling and its contents, barns, stables, and other land structures as well as liability coverage. By means of a number of special forms that follow the format of ...
Provision found in property and liability insurance policies that mandates that the insured notify the insurance company as soon as possible following the occurrence of a covered loss under ...
Holding of property, or otherwise acting on behalf of another in trust. The fiduciary must exercise due care in safeguarding property left under personal care, custody, and control. ...
Same as term Date of Issue: date when an insurance company issues a policy. This date may be different from the date the insurance becomes effective. ...
One who submits a claim for an incurred loss. ...
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