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
In a liability insurance policy, provision for the payment of the insured's expenses as stated in the policy in three areas above the policy limit of liability: legal fees resulting from ...
Number of bits a modem can receive or send per second. ...
Frequency of premium payment; for example annually, semiannually, quarterly, or monthly. ...
Federal legislation passed in 1988 (repealed November 23, 1989) that significantly increased the benefit amounts provided under medicare, both Part A and Part B, in the following manner: ...
Group appointed by President Nixon in 1971 to study workers compensation laws under the authorization of the occupational safety and health act (OSHA). It issued sweeping recommendations to ...
The term elevator collision insurance or elevator liability insurance is included in business liability insurance policies in order to cover potential damages suffered by the elevator or ...
Method of vesting under the employee retirement income security act of 1974 (ERISA) that requires an employee to have 10 years of service with an employer to be vested. An employee who ...
Documentation of loss required of a policyowner by an insurance company. For example, in the event of an insured's death, a death certificate (or copy) must be submitted to the company for ...
Coverage on jewelry and precious stones on an all risks basis at any location subject to exclusions of wear and tear, war, and nuclear disaster. Each item must be specifically listed in the ...
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