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 actually underwrites and issues the insurance policy. The term is used because the insurance company assumes or carries the risk for policyowners. The agent usually ...
Mortality table that reflects irregularities from age to age due to chance fluctuations in the sequence of the rates of mortality. The rates of death as reflected by the mortality table in ...
What is SSDI? It is a form of financial aid for people living with a disability that impacts their quality of life. As one of the largest Federal programs designed to provide assistance to ...
Option under a participating life insurance policy in which dividends are left on deposit with the company to accumulate at a specified interest rate. If this option is chosen, it is ...
Financial analysis method established by the national association of insurance commissioners (naic) to detect problems of property and casualty insurance companies and life and health ...
Federal agency that regulates commerce across state lines. The ICC does not oversee insurance, which is subject to regulation by the states according to Public Law 15, McCarran-Ferguson ...
Liability coverage for dockworkers for damage to property in transit while in their care. ...
Annual meetings of insurance practitioners and academicians from throughout the world interested in exchanging ideas concerning the theory and applications of insurance. The meeting is held ...
Inland marine policy that protects an insured against loss for property that is shipped. One policy may be written for a single shipment, as for a family moving household goods, or it may ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.