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
Coverage on data processing equipment, data processing media (such as magnetic tapes, disks), and extra expense involved in returning to usual business conditions. The data processing ...
Endorsement to an automobile insurance policy that protects an insured in either or both of two circumstances when driving a non owned car: business endorsement if the insured's negligent ...
Time during which an assessment life insurance company has the right to assess policyholders if losses are worse than anticipated in the premium charged. ...
Subsidiary, smaller company that is owned and controlled by a much larger company. In many instances pup companies are used to write special risk insurance for which the larger company does ...
Coverage on cargo in overseas ships for war-caused liability excluded under standard ocean marine insurance. Not covered is cargo awaiting shipment on a wharf, or on ships after 15 days of ...
Coverage during the operation of a ship for: Property of Ship (ship's hull, tackle, passenger fittings, equipment, stores, boats), and ordnance; Property Damage Liability (ship's owner ...
Same as term agent of record: individual who has a contractual agreement with a policyowner. The agent of record has a legal right to commissions from the insurance policy. ...
Statute in most states under which, if no evidence exists in a common disaster (when an insured and beneficiary die within a short time of each other in an accident for which determination ...
Rule that stipulates how to calculate the actual cash value of property that has been damaged, destroyed, or stolen. The thesis of this rule is that whatever evidence that can be produced ...
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