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
Combination of several coverages to protect the insured. For example, the comprehensive health insurance policy combines the basic hospital plan with major medical insurance to cover ...
Same as term Coverage: protection under an insurance policy. In property insurance, coverage lists perils insured against, properties covered, locations covered, individuals insured, and ...
Coverage that is excluded under commercial general liability insurance (comprehensive general liability insurance) for the loss of use of undamaged tangible real or personal property as the ...
Insurance coverage sold by a broker as contrasted with insurance coverage sold by an agent. ...
Liability and physical damage coverage for trailers under business or personal auto policies. Most automobile insurance policies offer liability coverage for common types of trailers owned ...
Two basic kinds of policies sold by health insurance companies: medigap insurance (medicare supplementary insurance); and medicare wraparound ...
Premium charged (and applied on a uniform basis) for property insurance covering properties at multiple locations. This rate is used under a blanket insurance policy instead of using a ...
Legislation passed in 1988 by the U.S. Congress to facilitate movement of checks through the collection system. As the result of this Act, the Federal Reserve has established rules for the ...
State plans that provide health insurance coverage for those who are unable to purchase medical insurance. Coverage is provided by a specially formed nonprofit-making pool comprised of all ...
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