Health Insurance Law,The first insurance company in the United States underwrote fire insurance and was formed in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1735. In 1752, Benjamin Franklin helped form a mutual insurance company called the Philadelphia Contributionship, which is the nation's oldest insurance carrier still in operation.[5][6] Franklin's company was the first to make contributions toward fire prevention. Not only did his company warn against certain fire hazards, it refused to insure certain buildings where the risk of fire was too great, such as all wooden houses
The first stock insurance company formed in the United States was the Insurance Company of North America in 1792. Massachusetts enacted the first state law requiring insurance companies to maintain adequate reserves in 1837. Formal regulation of the insurance industry began in earnest when the first state commissioner of insurance was appointed in New Hampshire in 1851. In 1869, the State of New York appointed its own commissioner of insurance and created a state insurance department to move towards more comprehensive regulation of insurance at the state level.
Insurance and the insurance industry has grown, diversified and developed significantly ever since. Insurance companies were, in large part, prohibited from writing more than one line of insurance until laws began to permit multi-line charters in the 1950s. From an industry dominated by small, local, single-line mutual companies and member societies, the business of insurance has grown increasingly towards multi-line, multi-state and even multi-national insurance conglomerates and holding companies.
Insurance Law is, as the name implies, the body of law pertaining to insurance. This includes insurance policies, insurance claims, insurance regulations and rates, and recently enacted laws, like the Affordable Care Act. Basically, insurance law can be broken into three categories: the business of insurance, the content of insurance policies, and the handling of claims.
Business of Insurance
These laws affect the requirements for companies wishing to operate the insurance industry. These laws can vary widely from state to state, but can affect things like ensuring the insurance company will have sufficient liquidity to cover claims in the event of catastrophic events or natural disasters. These laws also govern licensing insurance companies, regulating who insurance companies can turn away from coverage, the types of insurance a company must offer in a jurisdiction if it wishes to offer other policies, and many others.
Content of Insurance Policies
Laws related to the content of insurance policies are designed to prevent predatory practices that would essentially let insurers offer worthless or diminished value policies. They also prevent insurers from misleading clauses and titles on policies that would allow an unsophisticated buyer to believe that they are buying one type of insurance but receive another. These laws also govern other provisions, like reasonable cancellation, disclosures to third parties, and delineations of insured and uninsured events.
Handling of Claims
These laws affect how insurance companies must respond when a claim is made. They prevent insurance companies from denying claims unreasonably. They also prevent insurance companies, in certain instances, from canceling policies simply for making claims. They also affect how insureds can make claims and what happens if someone attempts to make a fraudulent claim.
Affordable Care Act / "Obamacare"
The Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act, also known simply as the Affordable Care Act or “Obamacare,” is a sweeping set of federal laws designed to increase the quality and affordability of health insurance, lower the rate of uninsured Americans by increasing public and private insurance coverage, and reduce the costs of healthcare for both individual citizens and the government. To do this, it uses a number of mechanisms, like mandates, subsidies, and insurance exchanges, to promote coverage and affordability. The Affordable Care Act also requires insurance companies to cover all applicants, including those with preexisting medical conditions and without regard to gender, provided they meet new minimum standards for coverage.
Although the Affordable Care Act has been a hot button issue for political controversy, the United States Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act in the case of National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius. However, the Court also held in that case that states cannot be forced to participate in the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion under penalty of losing their current Medicaid funding. Since that ruling, politicians have hotly contested the law's implementation, including a bid by Congressional conservatives to force a repeal of the law by exercising Congress's “purse power” and allowing a brief federal government shut down to occur in 2013 rather than pass a budget that included funding for the implementation of the Act.
If you have questions about insurance laws, you can review the materials found below for more information or use our Law Firms page to find an attorney in your area who can assist you.
Copyright HG.org
Know Your Rights!
If You Ever Work From Home, How Protected Are You If A Disaster Strikes? Millions of Americans work from home, either all of the time or on occasion. But, if a fire, flood, or natural disaster were to hit your home, would your insurance cover the lost business revenues, office equipment, or property belonging to your company?
Legally Speaking, What is an Act of God? Contracts talk about them, statutes mention them, even TV sitcoms joke about them, but what are acts of God? Many people might think they have a good idea, but given that insurance is often designed to protect against most catastrophes except acts of God, how confident are you that you actually know what is covered?
What is the Difference Between Short- and Long-Term Disability Coverage? In simplest terms, short-term disability (also known as “STD”) covers a percentage of an insured person's lost salary should injury or illness prevent them from working for more than a few days. Long-term disability (also known as “LTD”), on the other hand, is designed to protect an insured from catastrophic illness or injury that permanently end the insured's ability to earn a paycheck.
What To Do After a Tornado or Other Natural Disaster When any sort of natural disaster hits, it can be terrifying. Once it has passed, though, victims are often left wondering what they need to do to pick up the pieces. Is there anything they need to do in filing their insurance claims to make sure that they will get paid soon and as much as possible
The first stock insurance company formed in the United States was the Insurance Company of North America in 1792. Massachusetts enacted the first state law requiring insurance companies to maintain adequate reserves in 1837. Formal regulation of the insurance industry began in earnest when the first state commissioner of insurance was appointed in New Hampshire in 1851. In 1869, the State of New York appointed its own commissioner of insurance and created a state insurance department to move towards more comprehensive regulation of insurance at the state level.
Insurance and the insurance industry has grown, diversified and developed significantly ever since. Insurance companies were, in large part, prohibited from writing more than one line of insurance until laws began to permit multi-line charters in the 1950s. From an industry dominated by small, local, single-line mutual companies and member societies, the business of insurance has grown increasingly towards multi-line, multi-state and even multi-national insurance conglomerates and holding companies.
Insurance Law is, as the name implies, the body of law pertaining to insurance. This includes insurance policies, insurance claims, insurance regulations and rates, and recently enacted laws, like the Affordable Care Act. Basically, insurance law can be broken into three categories: the business of insurance, the content of insurance policies, and the handling of claims.
Business of Insurance
These laws affect the requirements for companies wishing to operate the insurance industry. These laws can vary widely from state to state, but can affect things like ensuring the insurance company will have sufficient liquidity to cover claims in the event of catastrophic events or natural disasters. These laws also govern licensing insurance companies, regulating who insurance companies can turn away from coverage, the types of insurance a company must offer in a jurisdiction if it wishes to offer other policies, and many others.
Content of Insurance Policies
Laws related to the content of insurance policies are designed to prevent predatory practices that would essentially let insurers offer worthless or diminished value policies. They also prevent insurers from misleading clauses and titles on policies that would allow an unsophisticated buyer to believe that they are buying one type of insurance but receive another. These laws also govern other provisions, like reasonable cancellation, disclosures to third parties, and delineations of insured and uninsured events.
Handling of Claims
These laws affect how insurance companies must respond when a claim is made. They prevent insurance companies from denying claims unreasonably. They also prevent insurance companies, in certain instances, from canceling policies simply for making claims. They also affect how insureds can make claims and what happens if someone attempts to make a fraudulent claim.
Affordable Care Act / "Obamacare"
The Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act, also known simply as the Affordable Care Act or “Obamacare,” is a sweeping set of federal laws designed to increase the quality and affordability of health insurance, lower the rate of uninsured Americans by increasing public and private insurance coverage, and reduce the costs of healthcare for both individual citizens and the government. To do this, it uses a number of mechanisms, like mandates, subsidies, and insurance exchanges, to promote coverage and affordability. The Affordable Care Act also requires insurance companies to cover all applicants, including those with preexisting medical conditions and without regard to gender, provided they meet new minimum standards for coverage.
Although the Affordable Care Act has been a hot button issue for political controversy, the United States Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act in the case of National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius. However, the Court also held in that case that states cannot be forced to participate in the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion under penalty of losing their current Medicaid funding. Since that ruling, politicians have hotly contested the law's implementation, including a bid by Congressional conservatives to force a repeal of the law by exercising Congress's “purse power” and allowing a brief federal government shut down to occur in 2013 rather than pass a budget that included funding for the implementation of the Act.
If you have questions about insurance laws, you can review the materials found below for more information or use our Law Firms page to find an attorney in your area who can assist you.
Copyright HG.org
Know Your Rights!
If You Ever Work From Home, How Protected Are You If A Disaster Strikes? Millions of Americans work from home, either all of the time or on occasion. But, if a fire, flood, or natural disaster were to hit your home, would your insurance cover the lost business revenues, office equipment, or property belonging to your company?
Legally Speaking, What is an Act of God? Contracts talk about them, statutes mention them, even TV sitcoms joke about them, but what are acts of God? Many people might think they have a good idea, but given that insurance is often designed to protect against most catastrophes except acts of God, how confident are you that you actually know what is covered?
What is the Difference Between Short- and Long-Term Disability Coverage? In simplest terms, short-term disability (also known as “STD”) covers a percentage of an insured person's lost salary should injury or illness prevent them from working for more than a few days. Long-term disability (also known as “LTD”), on the other hand, is designed to protect an insured from catastrophic illness or injury that permanently end the insured's ability to earn a paycheck.
What To Do After a Tornado or Other Natural Disaster When any sort of natural disaster hits, it can be terrifying. Once it has passed, though, victims are often left wondering what they need to do to pick up the pieces. Is there anything they need to do in filing their insurance claims to make sure that they will get paid soon and as much as possible
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