Last reviewed: 6 October 2026
Home › Agent guides › Who regulates insurance
Who regulates insurance in the US: the states, the NAIC and the federal role, as federal law and the NAIC describe them
The short answer: Congress declared in the McCarran-Ferguson Act that continued regulation and taxation of insurance by the states is in the public interest, and the Act says the business of insurance, and every person engaged in it, is subject to "the laws of the several States which relate to the regulation or taxation of such business."[1][2] The NAIC describes itself as providing expertise, data and analysis for insurance commissioners, and says its members are state insurance regulators.[3] The federal government has a few specific roles, including a Treasury Department Federal Insurance Office whose statute says it has no general supervisory or regulatory authority over the business of insurance.[4]
The short version
- State law is the starting point: "The business of insurance, and every person engaged therein, shall be subject to the laws of the several States which relate to the regulation or taxation of such business."[2]
- A federal law does not override a state insurance law unless it "specifically relates to the business of insurance."[2]
- The NAIC is an association of state regulators. It is governed by the chief insurance regulators of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories.[3]
- Federal law does step in in specific places: health insurance enforcement when a state fails to enforce, the Treasury's Federal Insurance Office, and federal programs such as flood and crop insurance.[4][5][6]
The federal statute that leaves insurance to the states
The McCarran-Ferguson Act is codified at 15 U.S.C. 1011 to 1015.
| Section | What it says (paraphrased) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1011 (declaration of policy) | Congress declares that continued state regulation and taxation of insurance is in the public interest, and that silence by Congress is not to be construed as a barrier to it. | [1] |
| 1012(a) (state regulation) | The business of insurance, and every person engaged in it, is subject to state laws that relate to its regulation or taxation. | [2] |
| 1012(b) (federal regulation) | No Act of Congress is to be construed to invalidate, impair or supersede a state law enacted to regulate insurance unless the Act specifically relates to the business of insurance. After June 30, 1948, the Sherman Act, the Clayton Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act apply to insurance to the extent it is not regulated by state law. | [2] |
| 1013(b), (c)(1) (antitrust) | Nothing in the chapter makes the Sherman Act inapplicable to an agreement to boycott, coerce or intimidate. Nothing in it modifies the operation of the antitrust laws with respect to the business of health insurance, with listed exceptions. | [7] |
| 1015 (definition) | "State" includes the several States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam and the District of Columbia. | [8] |
In practice, this is why an agent's license, a policy form and a complaint about an insurer are usually handled by the state where you live. See State insurance regulators: what five consumer pages list for what several states publish.
What the NAIC says it is
- The NAIC says it "provides expertise, data, and analysis for insurance commissioners to effectively regulate the industry and protect consumers."[3]
- It says its members are state insurance regulators who are "united in their shared commitment to set standards and ensure fair, competitive, and healthy insurance markets to protect consumers."[3]
- It lists its functions as including consumer protection and education, data collection and analysis, technology, financial assessments and reporting, and licensing and testing, and it describes a process for developing model laws and regulations.[3]
Our other guides describe several NAIC model laws, such as the anti-rebating model and the data security model. Each of those guides notes that state adoption varies.
The federal pieces
The Federal Insurance Office (Treasury)
- The statute establishes the Federal Insurance Office within the Department of the Treasury, headed by a Director appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury.[4]
- Its functions include monitoring all aspects of the insurance industry, including identifying gaps in regulation that could contribute to a systemic crisis; coordinating federal policy on international prudential insurance matters; and consulting with the states.[4]
- Its scope extends to all lines of insurance except health insurance, long-term care insurance (other than long-term care insurance included with life or annuity components) and crop insurance.[4]
- It may determine that a state insurance measure is preempted, but only after notice and consultation steps, and only if the measure results in less favorable treatment of a non-U.S. insurer domiciled in a foreign jurisdiction that is subject to a covered agreement than of a U.S. insurer, and is inconsistent with that covered agreement.[4]
- It may require an insurer or affiliate to submit data or information the Office may reasonably require, except for an insurer or affiliate that meets a minimum size threshold the Office may establish (the statute's heading calls this the exception for small insurers), and the Director may subpoena that information on a written finding that it is required to carry out the Office's functions and that the coordination required by subsection (e)(4) has taken place.[4]
- The statute's own heading "Retention of Existing State Regulatory Authority" says that nothing in sections 313 and 314 shall be construed to establish or provide the Office or the Treasury Department with "general supervisory or regulatory authority over the business of insurance."[4]
Health insurance
- Under the Public Health Service Act enforcement provision, each state may require health insurance issuers in its individual and group markets to meet the federal requirements of the covered parts of the Act.[5]
- If the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines that a state has failed to substantially enforce a provision, the Secretary enforces it for that state, but the statute limits that secretarial enforcement to individual health insurance coverage and to group health plans that are non-Federal governmental plans.[5]
Programs run under federal law
- Federal crop insurance is established by the Federal Crop Insurance Act, which the Federal Insurance Office statute names when it excludes crop insurance from that Office's scope. See crop insurance producer certification.[4]
- Federal flood insurance runs under the National Flood Insurance Program; federal rules require regulated lenders to make sure properties in special flood hazard areas have flood insurance.[6]
- Medicare supplement (Medigap) policies are sold by private insurers but must meet federal standards in the Social Security Act. See Medigap open enrollment and guaranteed issue.[9]
What this means when you check an agent or file a complaint
Because state law is the main layer, the first places to look are your state insurance department's licensee search and complaint process. Our license-check guide and complaint guide walk through both. Federal law can add rules for a particular product, such as health plans or Medigap, but it does not replace the state producer license.
How to verify this yourself
Read 15 U.S.C. 1011 to 1013 and 1015 and 31 U.S.C. 313, and read the NAIC's "About" page in its own words. Then open your own state insurance department's site and find its consumer page, which says which kinds of insurance it regulates.
What this page does not cover
We do not cover how each state is organized, which state officials appoint or elect the commissioner, how state insurance taxes work, antitrust litigation under the Act, the insurer-solvency role of state guaranty associations (see our guide on guaranty associations), or regulation of insurance in other countries. We do not grade any regulator or insurer. This is general information, not insurance or legal advice. For your own situation, ask your agent or insurer, or contact your state insurance regulator.
Your next step
Find your state's insurance department and bookmark its license-search and complaint pages. If you are checking a person who sells you coverage, start with how to check an agent's license.
Related checks
Our standard explains how we check an agent's license and disciplinary history. Check an agent reports our findings at category level, as a method and not a verdict. Neither reviews any insurer, plan or product. For the tool the NAIC runs for consumers, see how to use the NAIC Consumer Insurance Search. More plain-language guides are in the agent guides.
When we will update this page
We re-read the sources when they change. If something here is out of date, tell us. Corrections are dated on the page.
References
- [1] Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, text of 15 U.S.C. § 1011 (McCarran-Ferguson Act: declaration of policy), read 6 October 2026 — law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1011
- [2] Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, text of 15 U.S.C. § 1012 (state and federal regulation), read 6 October 2026 — law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1012
- [3] National Association of Insurance Commissioners, "About the NAIC", read 6 October 2026 — content.naic.org/about
- [4] Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, text of 31 U.S.C. § 313 (Federal Insurance Office), read 6 October 2026 — law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/31/313
- [5] Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, text of 42 U.S.C. § 300gg-22 (state and secretarial enforcement of health insurance requirements), read 6 October 2026 — law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/300gg-22
- [6] Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, text of 42 U.S.C. § 4012a (flood insurance purchase and participation requirements), read 6 October 2026 — law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/4012a
- [7] Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, text of 15 U.S.C. § 1013 (suspension until June 30, 1948 of certain Acts; boycott; health insurance), read 6 October 2026 — law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1013
- [8] Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, text of 15 U.S.C. § 1015 (definition of "State"), read 6 October 2026 — law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1015
- [9] Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, text of 42 U.S.C. § 1395ss (Medicare supplemental policies), read 6 October 2026 — law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1395ss
What you can do next
- Check an agent's license yourself, step by step
- Check an agent (United States agents and brokers only) — see which ones we have checked
- See how we check — the rules and sources behind each result
- Report an error or request a correction
- Browse all agent guides