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
Specialist whose task is to place insurance with the specialized syndicates that underwrite particular risks at Lloyd's of London. ...
Coverage that goes into effect when an employer who has self insurance has its total group health insurance claims attain a certain level, which is usually 125% of its annual projected ...
Health insurance coverage only for a specified catastrophic disease such as cancer. It is important to ascertain the waiting period required, maximum benefits and maximum length of time ...
Amount subtracted from an annuity or from mutual fund proceeds payable to an annuity owner or mutual fund owner to reflect expense fees described in the annuity contract or mutual fund ...
A guarantee of the performance of a contractor. In general, contract bonds are used to guarantee that the contractor will perform according to the specifications of the construction ...
Insurance with two types of policies available: depositors forgery insurance; forgery and alteration. ...
Property damage coverage for mobile agricultural equipment and machinery, including harness, saddles, blankets, and liveries. Perils insured are fire, lightning, vandalism, malicious ...
Formula for a given line of insurance used by property and casualty insurance companies to compare losses and loss adjustment expense with premiums. This shows the amount of each premium ...
Demand without foundation, such as a claim submitted to an insurance company by an insured who caused a loss, or for a loss that never occurred. ...
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