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
Coverage against foreign country expropriation underwritten by the overseas private investment corporation (OPIC) for U.S.-owned companies investing in given developing countries. ...
Activities of interest in underwriting an application for life insurance to determine the rate classification (premium) for the applicant. For example, a sky diver is at greater personal ...
Point in time when a term life insurance policy terminates its coverage. ...
Dwelling insurance is how it’s called the most obvious coverage type under the homeowner’s insurance umbrella. It deals with the damages done to the physical structure of the ...
Sum returned to a policyowner by an insurance company under a participating policy. Dividends are not deemed as taxable distributions, as the Internal Revenue Service interprets them as a ...
The adjuster definition is directly related to insurance and, more exactly, insurance claims. An insurance adjuster is responsible for evaluating insurance claims to determine how liable ...
Person, business, or organization specified as the insured (s) in a property or liability insurance policy. In some instances, the policy provides broader coverage to persons other than ...
Coverage during the transfer of securities and monies, precious metals, and other specified types of valuables by armored guard services. Policies are specifically designed to fit an ...
Property acquired before marriage by gift, by inheritance, or bought with separate monies. ...
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