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
Table used in calculating various nonforfeiture values for industrial life insurance policies. These tables give the minimum values that must be generated to the policyowner. The insured's ...
Liability incurred by one insured as the result of his or her damaging another insured when both insureds are covered under the same liability insurance policy. Each insured must be treated ...
Life insurance: Bonds most state regulations permit life insurance company investments in debentures, mortgage bonds, and blue chip corporate bonds. Stocks(a) preferred stock investment ...
fee that is the most consistently charged by the physician for a particular procedure. fee that is usual for a particular procedure charged by the majority of physicians with similar ...
Plan whereby adjustments are made in the premium, as the premium increases to reflect the non proportionate increases in expenses. Generally, the expenses of acquisition costs, ...
Same as term Convention Examination: audit of the convention blank (NAIC Statement Blank) every third year as to all of the financial activities of a company; company claim practices; and ...
Additional amount of surplus from an additional amount of capital necessary to act as a supplement to the cash flow in the event unforeseen contingencies occur that disrupt or impair the ...
Trade association whose objective is to further the interests of its membership, as well as to inform the public on the role of its members. ...
Payment of an employee's employee benefit insurance plan benefits to the employee's individual retirement account ( IRA) or to another plan maintained by the employer. ...
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