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 in the event that property is damaged or destroyed so that an insured cannot use the property for its intended purpose. For example, loss of use of a drill press because of ...
Section of the code that qualifies that the death benefit paid under a life insurance policy is received by the beneficiary income-tax free. These tax consequences apply regardless of the ...
Same as term Date of Issue: date when an insurance company issues a policy. This date may be different from the date the insurance becomes effective. ...
Aggregate of face amount of coverage paid up, or on which premiums are still being paid, as issued by a life insurance company. This is one measure used to rank life insurance companies by ...
Provision in health insurance under which an insured disabled person is required to undertake (and is reimbursed for) expenses associated with vocational rehabilitation for retraining to ...
Condition in which buildings are built with sealed windows resulting in poor ventilation causing occupants to experience dizziness, nausea, respiratory problems, headaches, fatigue, sinus ...
Single policy under which one individual is insured. ...
Kindling intentionally set in a fireplace, stove, furnace, or other containment that has not spread beyond it. Property insurance does not protect against damage from a friendly fire. For ...
Assets from a will transfer into an established life insurance trust. Through this mechanism, assets that have been probated are transferred into a living trust. ...
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