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
Same as term Floater: coverage for property which moves from location to location either on a scheduled or unscheduled basis. If the floater covers scheduled property, coverage is listed ...
Feature of pension plans whereby an employee whose service has been interrupted can have that period credited toward retirement. ...
Company formed to insure the risks of its parent corporation. Reasons for forming a captive insurance company include: Instances when insurance cannot be purchased from commercial insurance ...
Waiver of an impairment of an applicant for health insurance by attaching an endorsement to the health insurance policy stating that the policy will pay no benefits in connection with the ...
Type of guaranteed insurance contract in which the term is fixed, the rate is fixed, and the contract owner does not participate in the insurance company's earnings. ...
Joint profit sharing and money purchase plan that is appropriate for businesses that desire the funding flexibility of the profit sharing plan and the higher tax-deductible (25% vs. 15%) ...
Decision by a court of law. ...
actual fire losses divided by the total value of the property exposed to the peril of fire; actual losses resulting from fire divided by the total fire amount of in-force business. ...
Period of time of insurance coverage. If a loss occurs during this time, insurance benefits are paid. If a loss occurs after this time period has expired, no insurance benefits are paid. ...
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