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
Case where an insurance company is placed by the state court under the control of the state insurance department. Claims are paid in the order filed until the insurance company's ability to ...
Program of health care designed for the prevention and/or reduction of illnesses by providing such services as regular physical examinations. This care is in opposition to curative care, ...
Same as term Bankers Blanket Bond: coverage for a bank in the event of loss due to dishonest acts of its employees or individuals external to the bank. For example, if a teller goes to ...
Time at which life insurance death proceeds or endowments are paid, either at the death of an insured or at the end of the endowment period. ...
Frequency of illness, sickness, and diseases contracted. ...
Early payout of anticipated death benefits from a rider attached to an existing policy or from a separate policy. The purpose is to allow the terminally ill insured an additional source of ...
Life insurance policy clause. If at the end of the grace period the premium due has not been paid, a policy loan will automatically be made from the policy's cash value to pay the premium. ...
Percentage of income required by a retiree to maintain a desired standard of living during the retirement years. ...
Maximum amount that an insurance company will pay under a liability insurance policy for claims resulting from a particular accident. This maximum amount applies regardless of the amount of ...
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