Life insurance can be an expensive investment. Like most prudent investors, you want to make sure your investment is secure. You purchase life insurance to financially protect your loved ones after you pass away. But who protects your investment? Who regulates life insurance companies?
Continue reading below to learn everything you need to know about how life insurance is regulated and the agencies that regulate life insurance.
Who Regulates Life Insurance Companies?
Life insurance is governed primarily by state law, rather than federal law. The law to empower states with regard to the insurance industry was passed by Congress and is known as the McCarron-Ferguson Act of 1945. This law grants that insurance regulation is largely exempt from federal law, and gives state governments the right to regulate the insurance industry as they see fit.
Practically speaking, this division of legislation can create a nightmare for life insurance companies who operate in all 50 states. To some extent, individual state regulation is cumbersome, but luckily for modern companies, most state laws have been standardized, though some significant differences can exist such as grace period and free look laws. Certain products or forms may also gain approval in some states, but fail to be approved in others, or fail to gain approval at the same time, which can be a headache for agents and insurance companies alike.
Every life insurance company must also apply to operate in each state. When the state gives permission to do business within their borders they grant what is known as a certificate of authority. The certificate authority allows an insurance company to sell products to the state’s consumers, but individual products must still be cleared with state regulatory bodies.
Governing Agencies
Every state has an insurance bureau that provides oversight and regulation on the life insurance industry, amongst other insurance industries.
The agencies that attempt to standardize life insurance laws across states are the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL), the National Associate of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), and especially the Interstate Compact (IIPRC). These agencies are responsible for working with legislatures and creating laws across jurisdictions that are beneficial to consumers and allow for a healthy business operating environment for life insurance companies.
Variable life insurance and variable annuities are considered investment products by law. Because these variable policies are investment products, they fall under the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission. These laws are in conjunction with regulations from state life insurance legislators.
Guarantee Associations Protect Policy Owners and Beneficiaries
Every state also has a state guarantee association. This association is responsible for guaranteeing cash value and death benefits in the case of a life insurance company insolvency. These amounts may differ but generally, up to $100,000 of cash value is protected and up to $300,000 of death benefit payments per person.
Entities Governing Life Insurance in Canada
Canadian life insurance is regulated at both the state and provincial level. The governing bodies include Assuris, Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC), The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), The Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO), The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC), The Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR), and The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre Of Canada (FINTRAC). While some major US life insurers operate in Canada certainly not all have taken the legal and compliance steps to obtain licensing to operate in this jurisdiction.
Where to File Complaints or Make Inquiries
Remember that every state has a consumer affairs department, as well as a bureau of insurance. If you need to file a complaint against your insurance company, they would be the ones to contact. The attorney general’s office of your home state will also look into and advise on any instances of gross malpractice by the life insurance industry or an agent. Please do not hesitate to contact your state’s resources if needed for protection or questions. Life Ant also advises our clients to take every precaution when it comes to securing their finances.
3 weeks ago I asked Prudential to send me a copy of an old policy. They said it was archived so it would take 3 weeks to find. The have not followed thru with that. The problem is that my grandmother cashed in my father’s policy without me or my brother’s permission. Twice she sent us papers to sign the monies over to her. We refused to do so and somehow the stole our money. Then, her daughter w ho was a Notary put her stamp and signature on the paperwork. This is fraud from both the grandmother and her daughter. My aunt Suzi tried in 1996 to get us our money. He still has a record of every one she talked to and their names. She finally gave up. I am on disability due to kidney malfunction so I have asked my aunt Suzi to try again. Please let her know if this can be rectified. It is 25 yrs old and is the state of Missouri..Thankyou, Brian Stockton
If this is fraud, I recommend contacting the State of Missouri insurance bureau and notifying Prudential. If your grandmother owned the policy, she had the right to cash it in. There will not be much you can do even if you were named as a beneficiary on the policy.
Hello,
i lost my mother back in 2009 up until recently i found out that there was a return permium sent to the state in my name, on a life insurance policy that my mother had. however that company closed it’s doors an another life insurance co took over. it seems that they wont give me any infomation on when that policy like what date did that policy expire because it doesent make sense so many years later i get a return on a premium.
i’m in a need of help
Thank You,
Nick Nicholas,