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
Legislation mandating that factors taken into account in the calculation of premium rates for automobile insurance include the insured's driving record, annual miles driven, and years of ...
Type of livestock insurance that covers for cattle and sheep on the range from October 1 to May 1 in the Western states. Perils insured against are the weather, including freezing; most ...
Performance of managerial and clerical functions related to an employee benefit insurance plan by an individual or committee that is not an original party to the benefit plan. In selecting ...
Synopsis of the key financial figures concerning the pension plan that is contained in the form 5500 that must be filed annually with the Internal Revenue Service. This report must be given ...
Protection against the death of an individual in the form of payment to a beneficiary usually a family member, business, or institution. In exchange for a series of premium payments or a ...
Bonds issued by the United States Treasury that earn a fixed interest rate plus the rate of inflation. These bonds are sold at face value in denominations of $50 up to $5000 and may earn ...
One of four SEC divisions that administers the procedure through which public companies must disclose all relevant material in order that a potential investor might make an informed ...
Accounting procedures that defer the full funding of a life insurance net level premium reserve to accommodate the policy acquisition cost in the early years of a policy. First-year policy ...
Modification in premiums, reserves, and other values to reflect actual loss experience and expenses and expected benefits to be paid. ...
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