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
Management of investment risks associated with business risk, interest rate risk, political risk, and purchasing power risk. Usually fixed income financial instruments, such as fixed dollar ...
Postponement of taxes on investment or other earnings until the investor begins to consume them and anticipates being in a lower tax bracket. One example of a tax-deferred investment is an ...
Present value of a series of payments such that the first payment is due immediately, the second payment one period from hence, the third payment two periods hence, and so forth. The ...
Group insurance contract under which a periodic (usually monthly) disability income benefit is paid to the insured as long as he or she remains disabled. ...
Extension of coverage available under the Standard Fire Policy. The standard policy only covers the perils of fire and lightning. The endorsement covers riot, riot attending a strike, civil ...
One named under provisions of the employee retirement income security act of 1974 (erisa) for a terminated pension plan with an unfunded liability for its benefits. ...
Insurance policy under which payment is made for a loss not subject to any deductible or under which payment is made up to the limits of the policy, and then an excess insurance policy ...
Same as term Fortuitous Loss: loss occurring by accident or chance, not by anyone's intention. Insurance policies provide coverage against losses that occur only on a chance basis, where ...
Agent who is licensed and who markets and services insurance policies in a state in which he or she is not domiciled. ...
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