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
Modified endowment insurance policy under which the insured receives one-half the death benefit as the maturity value of the policy. ...
Actual mortality experience of an insured group as compared to the expected mortality for that group. ...
Term in pensions; leaving a job before normal retirement age, subject to minimum requirements of age and years of service. There usually is a reduction in the monthly retirement benefit. ...
Annuity guaranteeing a given number of income payments whether or not the annuitant is alive to receive them. If the annuitant is living after the guaranteed number of payments have been ...
Act that regulates the variable dollar insurance products (equity related) sold by insurance companies. The act includes regulations that stipulate: the variable dollar insurance products ...
End of a defined time period that dividends become payable to the policyholder. ...
All sources of cash flow, usually stated on an annual basis. ...
Association of independent agents whose objective is to further the interests of these agents through education, lobbying, and professional ethics. ...
Physical, moral, or financial circumstance of a life insurance applicant that sets him or her apart from a physically, morally, and financially sound standard applicant. The underwriting ...
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