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 ...
Long-term investment plan strategy under which all of the investor's investable assets are divided into predetermined proportions among several different types of securities. In theory, ...
Determination that investments by parents in their children's education through the purchase of Series EE Savings Bonds, which generate interest income, are tax-exempt if the proceeds are ...
Money withdrawn by an employee from benefits owned. When an employee exercises this right, future benefits purchased by the employer on behalf of the employee are usually forfeited. ...
Policy that pays a dividend to its owner. ...
Inquiry conducted by a committee of the legislature of the State of New York in 1905 that looked at abuses of life insurance companies operating in the state. This study led to stricter ...
Omissions from coverage found in products liability insurance. The policy does not provide coverage if the business manufactures a product that does not meet the level of performance as ...
Model state law of the NAIC that requires the insurance agent who is replacing the policy to: give the policyholder a replacement notice; forward a signed copy of the replacement notice to ...
Coverage for persons whose medical history includes serious illness such as heart disease or whose physical condition is such that they are rated below standard. A policy may specifically ...
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