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
Insurance company that becomes subrogated to the rights of another party. ...
Measure of the rate at which policies are cancelled or allowed to lapse. The termination rate is a factor in setting premiums for group life and health policies. ...
Formula for a given line of insurance used by property and casualty insurance companies to compare losses and loss adjustment expense with premiums. This shows the amount of each premium ...
Same as term Expected Loss: probability of loss upon which a basic premium rate is calculated. ...
Calculations involving the mortality rate of a company's insureds and the rate of return on the company's investments. It is used in calculating the prospective reserve. ...
Date of the initial annuity payment. ...
Same as term Expense Allowance: payment to an insurance agent in addition to commissions. Expense allowances, that differ from company to company, vary with the amount of business agents ...
Choice of one of the following available to a life insurance policy owner (or beneficiary, if entitled to receive a death benefit in a lump sum at the death of an insured): INTEREST OPTION ...
Professional designation earned after the successful completion of three national examinations given by the insurance institute of America (IIA). Covers such areas of expertise as ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.