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
Entity that offers a managed care plan for workers compensation benefits that joins a provider network with the following parts: case management personnel, medical bill review personnel, ...
In insurance, legal authority obtained by an insurance company, agent, broker, or consultant that permits them to do business in a particular state. The document issued by the state shows ...
Clause in legal contracts that excuses a given party to the contract from liability for unintentional negligent acts and/or omissions. ...
Individual who possesses a unique ability essential to the continued success of a business firm. For example, this individual might have the technical knowledge necessary for research and ...
owner of property has an insurable interest because of the expectation of monetary loss if that property is damaged or destroyed. creditor of an insured has an insurable interest in ...
Frequency and severity of accidents resulting from conditions and environment surrounding one's workplace. Occupation is an important underwriting factor when considering an applicant for ...
Probable number of times that a specified event is likely to occur. For example, if E is the event, then the odds for E occurring are X to Y according to the following relationship: P (E) ...
Model state law of the NAIC that stipulates that the prospective purchaser of a dread disease insurance policy (catastrophic illness insurance policy) must be provided a quantitative ...
Health and medical insurance that excludes coverage for job-related injuries and illnesses. Most medical insurance policies do not provide benefits for job-related claims, which are covered ...
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