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
Single policy covering all insurable property of specified type s) at all locations of an insured business. The form is appropriate for the business that has several locations. There are ...
Beneficiary's choice, in a life insurance policy or annuity, for receiving income payments for a given period of time. The number of payments are fixed by the payee; the benefit amount is ...
Procedure for examining the total financial position of the insurance company over future time periods under various changing scenarios of uncertainty involving interest rates, mortality ...
Sum of money paid on the principal amount of money invested or loaned. ...
In insurance, legal authority obtained by an insurance company, agent, broker, or consultant that permits them to do business in a particular state. The document issued by the state shows ...
Organization formed to encourage research in insurance and to foster an exchange of ideas and research methodology among the society members. ...
HEALTH MAINTENANCE ORGANIZATION that restricts to a relatively small amount the number of medical providers from which an HMO member may seek services. Usually, HMO members may select the ...
Provision by an employer for the economic and social welfare of employees. Generally include: pension plans for retirement; group life insurance for death; group health insurance for ...
Methodology in which a range of plausible alternatives is suggested concerning future scenarios. The scenarios describe possibilities rather than predictions. ...
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