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
Type of universal variable life insurance policy that provides guideline premiums to be paid usually by the policy owner. Charges on a monthly basis usually include the cost of insurance, ...
Coverage against loss as the result of a burglary. Found as part of the commercial package policy that has generally replaced the special multiperil insurance (smp) policy and the ...
Same as term Claims Made Basis: method of determining whether or not coverage is available for a specific claim. If a claim is made during the time period when a liability policy is in ...
Sum total of all assets owned by the decedent to include personal property, real property, and trust property. ...
Same as term Bankers Blanket Bond: coverage for a bank in the event of loss due to dishonest acts of its employees or individuals external to the bank. For example, if a teller goes to ...
Compensation to an agent in the same absolute dollar amount, regardless of the type of insurance policy sold. Contrast with graded commission. ...
Widely accepted standard policy forms that have been developed by various rating bureaus or insurance companies. Some forms are required by state law, and some are used by custom. In some ...
Coverage for extra expenses associated with the reconstruction of a damaged or destroyed building where zoning requirements mandate more costly construction material. This endorsement is ...
Care in a sanitarium, nursing home, or other facility designed to provide custodial care on behalf of the mental and physical well-being of the patient. The cost may or may not be provided ...
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