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 in which a premium (the deposit) is paid in the first policy year, in addition to the regular term insurance premiums required. The deposit is left to accumulate at interest for a ...
Cash carried forward from the previous year, plus gains from operations for the current year, plus any capital gains. ...
Specific time at which the insurance policy coverage begins and ends. ...
Coverage for equipment normally carried from location to location by a physician or surgeon; written on an all risks basis to include supplies and scientific books used in medical practice. ...
Same as term: Free Examination "free Look" Period: right, in most states, of an insured to have 10 days in which to examine an insurance policy, and if not satisfied, to return it to the ...
Modification of the charitable remainder uni-trust through which the beneficiaries receive a specified percentage of the assets' value in the trust usually paid out on a quarterly basis. If ...
Monetary fund established to pay for claims that the insurance company is aware of (claims incurred or future claims) but that the insurance company has not yet settled. This reserve is ...
Circumstance in which an insurance company can issue life or health insurance to an applicant based on standards set by the company. ...
interconnection of computers that contain pages classified into groups called web sites that can be accessed over the internet. The only requirement for visiting a web site is to have ...
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