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
Flow of funds out of one financial instrument, whose interest rates are low, into another financial instrument, whose interest rates are higher. In the early 1980s, insurance companies ...
Insured sum paid regularly to a married partner (usually a wife but sometimes a husband) of a retired worker. There are several forms: The Federal Retirement Equity Act mandates a spouse's ...
Personal and business property insurance that combines in one policy several types of property insurance covering numerous perils. However, no liability insurance is provided. ...
Health insurance contract that is renewable at the option of the insurer. On the anniversary date of the contract, the insurer has the right to decide whether or not to renew. ...
Coverage for items that are on consignment, including exhibits, goods up for auction, and goods awaiting someone's approval. The stipulation for coverage is that these items cannot be under ...
Coverage in automobile insurance providing protection in the event of physical damage (other than collision) or theft of the insured car. For example, fire damage to an insured car would be ...
Law under which one state gives favorable tax treatment to an insurance company domiciled in a different state that is admitted to do business, provided the second state does the same for ...
Payment due on the renewal of an insurance policy. The premium may be adjusted up or down to reflect the loss experience of the underwriting classification to which the insured belongs. ...
Short-term investments, to include the following: commercial paper, interest-bearing balances with banks, federal funds sold and securities purchased under agreements to resell, trading ...
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