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
Policy that generates a savings element. Cash values are critical to a permanent life insurance policy. The size of a cash value buildup differs substantially from company to company. In ...
Means of ending a pension plan only for reasons of business necessity, following IRS regulations. If the IRS determines that the plan was terminated for other reasons, employee and employer ...
Agreement by the insured that, simply because the insurer investigates and determines a value for the claim, the insurer does not admit liability for the claim. ...
Providing coverage for physicians' fees, expenses associated with nonsurgical care whether in the insured's home, hospital, or the physician's office, and expenses connected with X-rays and ...
Government agency, under the McCarran-Ferguson act (public law 15), that has no authority over insurance matters to the extent the states regulate insurance to the satisfaction of Congress. ...
Period of time an insured is sick and entitled to receive health insurance benefits. ...
Legal instrument posted by a contractor or craftsman to guarantee that completed work is free of flaws and will perform its intended function for a specified period of time. ...
Latin phrase meaning "without which not," signifying a legal rule in tort and negligence cases. Under this rule, a plaintiff trying to prove that an injury was a direct result of a ...
Coverage on an all risks basis for loss due to theft or mysterious disappearance of personal property; damage to premises and property within resulting from theft; and vandalism and ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.