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Chapter 10 Insurance Regulation
1) Which of the following is not directly a subject of state insurance regulation?
A) Financial solvency of insurance companies
B) Trade practices of insurance companies, such as agent compensation and product pricing
C) Marketing activities of insurance companies
D) The rates that insurers charge for insurance
Answer: D
Diff: 2
2) Why is there unequal knowledge and bargaining power in the insurance transaction?
A) The complexity of the insurance contract and the intangible nature of the product
B) The insurance companies want to confuse consumers so it is difficult to make choices.
C) Consumers do not receive the policy until months after the contract goes into effect.
D) There is no competition in the industry, therefore the consumer is stuck with inferior products.
Answer: A
Diff: 3
3) Which of the following is not an argument for federal regulation?
A) There will be substantial improvement in efficiency due to fewer jurisdictional requirements.
B) There will be less influence over federal regulators by insurance companies.
C) There will be more expertly trained personnel.
D) It will bring more tax money to the federal government.
Answer: D
Diff: 2
4) Which of the following is a subject of state insurance regulation?
A) Equal employment practices of the insurer
B) Standards of financial solvency
C) Business acquisition practices
D) Insurance contract provisions
Answer: D
Diff: 2
5) The regulator's objective with respect to insurance rates is to ensure that rates are:
A) understood by consumers and affordable for most consumers
B) equal for all applicants, adequate, and minimally discriminatory
C) fair, adequate and not unfairly discriminatory
D) fair, not excessive, and affordable
Answer: C
Diff: 2
6) Which of the following is the most important goal of insurance regulation?
A) Limiting the number of insurance companies in the state
B) Promoting the solvency of insurance companies
C) Mandating that all citizens purchase auto insurance and health insurance
D) Approving the contractual language of insurance policies sold in the state
Answer: B
Diff: 2
7) Insurer reserve requirements exist to:
A) force the insurer to maintain a minimum amount of assets
B) allow the insurer to earn investment income
C) allow the insurer to charge higher premiums
D) set money aside for fixed asset acquisition
Answer: A
Diff: 2
8) The right of the states to regulate insurance was first established by the:
A) SEUA decision
B) Paul v. Virginia decision
C) National Association of Insurance Commissioners Act
D) McCarran-Ferguson Act
Answer: B
Diff: 2
9) Currently, the extent of the federal government's right to exercise regulatory authority over insurance companies is dictated by:
A) SEUA case
B) Paul v. Virginia decision
C) Robinson-Patman Act
D) McCarran-Ferguson Act
Answer: D
Diff: 2
10) Which of the following is not a stated purpose of regulation?
A) Promote competition among the largest insurers in the state
B) Maintain insurer solvency
C) Deal with unique pricing problems that do not allow for full and unrestrained competition
D) Promote social goals
Answer: A
Diff: 2
11) Which one of the following is an argument for federal regulation of the insurance transaction?
A) If there were federal regulation, state regulation would still be required for intrastate transactions.
B) State regulation allows experimentation and isolation of bad laws.
C) Many states do not have enough trained people to regulate insurance efficiently.
D) All of the above
Answer: C
Diff: 3
12) Insurance regulations require legal reserves and surplus because:
A) assets have to equal liabilities plus owners' equity
B) reserves are long-term obligations and must be met with long-term assets
C) they provide a cushion against bad underwriting and investment results
D) insurers must pre-fund all agent's commissions and underwriting expenses
Answer: C
Diff: 3
13) The arguments for federal regulation of insurance all of the following except:
A) lack of uniformity of state regulation
B) state regulation costs more to administer
C) federal regulation would be less expensive
D) federal regulation would be more flexible
Answer: D
Diff: 2
14) Which one of the following is not a reason for the regulation of insurance?
A) To prevent insurer insolvencies
B) To promote social goals
C) The unequal knowledge and bargaining power of the parties to the contract
D) To stabilize the economy
Answer: D
Diff: 2
15) The South-Eastern Underwriters Association Case:
A) preceded the Paul V. Virginia case
B) upheld the precedent set in Paul v. Virginia
C) reversed the Paul v. Virginia decision
D) none of the above
Answer: C
Diff: 2
16) Which of the following best describes the two sources of insurance regulation?
A) State governments and the federal government
B) Insurance law and the administration of that law
C) Contracts and the court system
D) Administrative bodies and the court system
Answer: B
Diff: 3
17) Which of the following is not a reason for the comprehensive regulation of insurance?
A) Widespread abuse of consumer rights
B) Severe impact of insurer insolvency
C) Unequal knowledge and bargaining power of buyers and sellers
D) Unique pricing problems inherent in insurance
Answer: A
Diff: 2
18) What was the major result of the Armstrong and Merrit Investigations?
A) Passage of the McCarran Act
B) Bankruptcy of the SEUA
C) The repeal of McCarran-Ferguson Act
D) A new insurance code for the state of New York
Answer: D
Diff: 2
19) Which of the following is an example of an admitted asset?
A) Office furniture
B) Supplies
C) Equipment
D) Real estate holdings
Answer: D
Diff: 2
20) Which of the following is an example of a nonadmitted asset?
A) Office furniture
B) Supplies
C) Equipment
D) All of the above
Answer: D
Diff: 2
21) A life insurer's policy reserve equals the difference between the mathematical liability of a future death claim and the value of:
A) future premiums the insured will have to refund to its policyholders
B) future premiums the insured will pay the insurer
C) future investment earnings on premiums the insured will pay the insurer
D) all present death claims
Answer: B
Diff: 2
22) The NAIC requires life insurers to keep two different types of reserve accounts. These reserve accounts are designed to protect insureds from poor investment results the insurer may suffer. What are these two reserves called?
A) Mandatory securities valuation reserve and supplementary securities valuation reserve
B) Mandatory securities valuation reserve and asset valuation reserve
C) Mandatory securities valuation reserve and interest maintenance reserve
D) Interest maintenance reserve and asset valuation reserve
Answer: D
Diff: 2
23) What is the purpose of the asset valuation reserve?
A) To absorb losses arising from sales of assets for less than their cost (capital losses)
B) To absorb losses arising from the insolvency of debtors (credit losses)
C) To absorb losses caused by changes (increases) in interest rates on government securities
D) To absorb losses caused by guaranty fund assessments made against insurer assets
Answer: A
Diff: 2
24) What is the purpose of the interest maintenance reserve?
A) To absorb losses arising from sales of assets for less than their cost (capital losses)
B) To absorb losses arising from the insolvency of debtors (credit losses)
C) To absorb losses caused by changes (increases) in interest rates on government securities
D) To absorb losses caused by guaranty fund assessments made against insurer assets
Answer: C
Diff: 2
25) The NAIC requires life insurers to have reserve accounts that protect insureds from the:
A) insurer's poor underwriting decisions
B) insurer's poor investment results
C) catastrophic hurricane years
D) effects of terrorism risk on the insurer's stability
Answer: B
Diff: 2
26) NAIC stands for:
A) National Association of Investment Commissioners
B) National Affiliated Insurance Commissioners
C) National Association of Insurance Commissioners
D) none of the above
Answer: C
Diff: 1
27) The failure of three large life insurance companies resulted in the NAIC's development of which of the following for life insurers?
A) Interest maintenance reserves
B) Asset valuation reserves
C) Risk-based capital requirements
D) National guaranty funds
Answer: C
Diff: 2
28) The main outcome of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 is to allow:
A) banks, insurers and security dealers to openly compete with one another
B) banks, insurers and security dealers to form financial services holding companies
C) insurers to choose between state or federal regulation
D) banks to evade the provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act
Answer: B
Diff: 2
29) Under the provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, all of the following are true except:
A) state insurance commissioners oversee insurers operating in their state
B) within a financial services holding company, insurance records must be kept separate from other financial records
C) only licensed insurance agents can receive commissions for insurance sales
D) state insurance commissioners and the Federal Reserve jointly oversee the banking activities of insurer-owned banks
Answer: D
Diff: 2
30) A foreign insurer is:
A) one that is home-officed outside the U.S.
B) one that has offices both in the U.S. and in other countries
C) one that is incorporated in another state
D) one that has not been in existence for at least three fiscal years
Answer: C
Diff: 2
31) An alien insurer is:
A) one that is home-officed outside the U.S.
B) one that has offices both in the U.S. and in other countries
C) one that is incorporated in another state
D) one that has not been in existence for at least three fiscal years
Answer: A
Diff: 2
32) A domestic insurer is:
A) one that is home-officed outside the U.S.
B) one that has offices both in the U.S. and in other countries
C) one that is incorporated in another state
D) none of the above
Answer: D
Diff: 3
33) The Merritt Committee Investigation looked into solutions for dealing with:
A) unethical and undesirable behavior by insurance companies
B) effectiveness of state taxation as opposed to insurance regulation
C) states that do not have a state insurance commissioner system in place
D) insurers that violate risk-based capital requirements
Answer: A
Diff: 2
34) The McCarran-Ferguson Act recommended that:
A) states dismantle their regulatory systems
B) states submit to federal insurance regulation
C) state regulation be phased out over a ten-year period
D) none of the above
Answer: D
Diff: 3
35) Under regular audits and solvency testing an insurer is subject to:
A) no state guaranty fund participation
B) more restrictive rate regulation
C) the requirement to file an annual statement
D) FDIC participation and protection
Answer: C
Diff: 2
36) IBNR reserves are an estimate of:
A) losses that have been incurred but not reported to the insurer
B) losses that have been incurred and reported to the insurer, but not yet settled
C) unearned premiums the insurer owes policyholders
D) agent commissions owed
Answer: A
Diff: 2
37) One result of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley act has been:
A) the separation of banks and insurance companies
B) greater consistency of agent licensing requirements across state lines
C) increased restrictions on where agents and insurers may operate
D) both A and C
Answer: B
Diff: 3
38) Different prices for identical goods is one sign of a market that has uninformed buyers.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
39) "Prior-approval" price regulation is known as "use-and-file" regulation.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
40) In the Paul v. Virginia decision, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that Paul was legally an agent of the state of Virginia.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
41) It is generally illegal for an insurance agent to share her commissions with an insured.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
42) The Southeastern Underwriters Association (SEUA) case reversed the Paul v. Virginia decision.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
43) Congress passed McCarran-Ferguson Act as a response to the SEUA decision.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
44) McCarran-Ferguson Act expressed the intent of the federal government to forever abandon to the states the right to regulate insurance.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 3
45) The Appleton Rule applies to all insurance companies doing business in Wisconsin.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
46) The NAIC is a federal regulatory agency for administering federal insurance programs for armed service personnel.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
47) The best argument for continued state insurance regulation is that state regulation is cheaper and more efficient than federal regulation would be.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
48) A legal reserve is a cash asset account maintained by life insurers.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
49) A loss reserve is more likely to be maintained in relatively large amounts by a property than a life insurance company.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
50) Risk-based capital requirements have been developed for both life and non-life insurers.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
51) Risk-based capital requirements take into account differences in a particular insurers' underwriting and investment practices.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
52) An alien insurer is a non-U.S. insurer.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
53) A foreign insurer is a non-U.S. insurer.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
54) Unrestrained price competition does not work in the insurance market because prices have to be determined long before final costs are known.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
55) Property insurance companies have more freedom in their investment activities than do life insurance companies.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
56) Life insurance companies have a debtor/creditor relationship with their living insureds that is similar to a fiduciary relationship.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
57) The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act took effect on January 1, 1998.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
58) Explain what a guarantee fund is. How are guarantee funds financed?
Answer: A guarantee fund is designed to protect insureds from losses due to insolvent insurers. Guarantee funds are funded from assessments on all insurers doing business in a particular state. Diff: 2
59) What is the overall regulatory objective for a state's rate regulations?
Answer: The overall objective of a state's regulation of insurance rates is to produce rates that are 1)fair, 2) adequate, and 3) not unfairly discriminatory. Diff: 2
60) What is the difference between prior approval and open rating laws?
Answer: Open rating laws allow an insurer to use whatever rate it chooses after filing the rate and supporting statistics with the insurance commissioner. Prior approval requires approval of the rates by the insurance commissioner before they may be used.
Diff: 2
61) Explain briefly the purpose of the McCarran Act.
Answer: The McCarran-Ferguson Act was passed in 1945 by congress with the express intention of allowing the several states to regulate the insurance transaction because such continued regulation was in the public interest. It also exempted insurance transactions from the Sherman Act, the Clayton Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act as long as the states regulated these areas.
Diff: 2
62) Explain what a policy reserve is. How is a policy reserve calculated?
Answer: A policy reserve is a legal reserve that insurance companies maintain in order to be able to pay out future claims. It is calculated by subtracting the present value of the future net premiums from the present value of future claims.
Diff: 2