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
Rate not subsequently adjusted. The rate stays in effect regardless of an insured's subsequent loss record. ...
Same as term Fortuitous Loss: loss occurring by accident or chance, not by anyone's intention. Insurance policies provide coverage against losses that occur only on a chance basis, where ...
Insurance protection written in the form of a single line policy. ...
Provision in the extended coverage endorsement stating that smoke damage is covered when it results from the sudden, unusual, and faulty operation of an on-premises cooking or heating unit, ...
Addition to the pure cost of insurance that reflects agent commissions, premium taxes, administrative costs associated with putting business on an insurance company's books, and ...
Federal program to insure private U.S. investments in foreign countries, created by the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. It is a joint government and private effort to encourage U.S. ...
Adjustment of the burning cost ratio for the increase in number and size of losses (losses likely in excess of that used in the unadjusted burning cost rate), incurred but not reported ...
Estimated future dividends to be paid by a participating insurance policy. These dividend estimations cannot be part of the policy since they are not guaranteed. They are normally shown in ...
Bond derivatives of short-term duration whose principal or coupon value is determined by a market index. Market indexes that can be utilized include securities, commodity prices, and ...
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