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
Investment-oriented whole life insurance policy that provides a return linked to an underlying portfolio of securities. The portfolio typically is a group of mutual funds established by the ...
Insurance company incorporated according to the laws of the state in which a risk is located and the policy issued. The insurance company is domiciled in that state. ...
Cooperative organization among insurers that rates and prepares new policy forms according to guidelines and regulations of the state insurance department. Loss experience, collected ...
Type of insurance providing all risks coverage for personal property of the crew and passengers aboard a ship. Marine cargo insurance does not cover personal property of the crew and ...
Right of a policyholder in life insurance with cash value to elect a smaller, fully paid-up policy, without any further premiums to pay. The amount of the paid-up policy is determined by ...
Specifications dealing with exclusions, policy requirements, cancellations and related matters. Perils Most policies exclude enemy attack, invasions, insurrection, rebellion, revolution, ...
Coverage for the federal government in the event of loss due to dishonest acts of federal government employees. ...
Protection required under the Motor Carrier Act of 1935. The policy covers the motor truck carrier if it is legally liable for the damage, destruction, or other loss of the customer's ...
Method of transferring pure risks that is perhaps the seed of the modern day insurance policy. Ancient Greece held to the concept that a loan on a ship was canceled if the ship failed to ...
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