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
Pension plan funding instrument in which contributions paid by an employer are deposited to accumulate at interest. (These plans are usually noncontributory.) Upon retirement, an immediate ...
Individual who is legally responsible for taking care of another individual (s) who is deemed to be incapable of managing his/her own affairs. For example, children under the age of ...
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 ...
Commission that is paid based on how profitable a particular type of business proves to be that is written by an agent. ...
Statement regarding an insured's retention of low-severity risks because they are not catastrophic, and can be absorbed without having a dramatic effect on the financial structure of a ...
Method of determining reimbursement from medical insurance according to diagnosis on a prospective basis. It originated with the medicare program. ...
Commission paid to an agent after the first year commission has been paid to that agent. Renewal commissions generally form a substantial portion of an agent's income after four years in ...
Temporary insurance contract providing coverage until a permanent policy is issued. In property and casualty insurance, some agents have authority to bind the insurance company to cover ...
Theft of another's property by a person entrusted with that property. Coverage can be found under various bonding arrangements. ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.