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
Combination of two basic plans: accumulating units of paid-up permanent life insurance, and decreasing units of group term life insurance. The premium paid each month consists of the (a) ...
U.S. Supreme Court case in 1868 in which the decision (since overruled) was that an insurance policy was not an instrument of commerce, and thus did not involve interstate commerce ...
Policy similar to that of an individual universal life insurance policy except that the coverage is provided (up to a limit) without the requirement of the submission of evidence of ...
Inquiry conducted by a committee of the legislature of the State of New York in 1905 that looked at abuses of life insurance companies operating in the state. This study led to stricter ...
Approach used for sole proprietorships, partnerships, and close corporations in which the business interests of a deceased or disabled proprietor, partner, or shareholder are sold according ...
Audit of the convention blank (NAIC Statement Blank) every third year as to all of the financial activities of a company; company claim practices; and general policy owner relations. ...
Phrase formerly used to describe coverage for perils of accident and sickness. ...
One-year futures contract (standardized agreement between two parties to buy or sell a commodity or financial instrument on an organized futures exchange such as the CBOT within some future ...
Offer and acceptance upon which an agreement is based. For a contract to be legal (and thus enforceable in a court of law), an offer must be made by one party to another party, who accepts ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.