Category: Global regulation · Reviewed by Al Jabbar, Broker · Specialist Risks · Last reviewed 2026-06-05
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is the US standard-setting and support organisation governed by the chief insurance regulators from the 50 states, the District of Columbia and five US territories. Founded in 1871, the NAIC is a private, non-profit body — not a federal regulator and not a creature of Congress — that develops model laws, sets statutory accounting standards, runs financial data services, and accredits state regulators against minimum solvency standards.
Category: Global insurance regulation Also known as: National Association of Insurance Commissioners Jurisdiction: United States (national coordination body) Founding statute / instrument: Founded 1871 as the National Insurance Convention of the United States; reorganised as the NAIC. Not established by federal statute. Related concepts: US insurance regulation, McCarran-Ferguson Act, NY DFS, California Department of Insurance, Solvency II
The NAIC is the membership organisation of US chief insurance regulators. It has no direct supervisory authority over insurers or intermediaries; its outputs are model laws and regulations, accounting and reporting standards, examiner guidance and information-technology services, all of which take legal effect only when adopted by an individual state through its own legislative or rulemaking process.
The NAIC’s secretariat is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, with offices in New York City and Washington DC. Its governance comprises an Executive Committee of state commissioners; standing committees address life, health, property and casualty, financial regulation, market conduct, international insurance and innovation.
The NAIC is not established by federal statute. Its authority is entirely derivative — each state commissioner’s participation reflects their state-law supervisory powers. The McCarran-Ferguson Act 1945 (15 USC §§1011-1015) is the constitutional setting in which the NAIC operates: by preserving state regulation of insurance, the Act creates the need for a national coordination body.
Several NAIC functions have practical force beyond model-law drafting. The NAIC Accreditation Program reviews state insurance departments against a set of minimum standards in solvency regulation; loss of accreditation can prejudice a state’s standing to license multi-state insurers. The NAIC Accounting Practices and Procedures Manual codifies Statutory Accounting Principles (SAP) for all US insurers.
The NAIC drafts and maintains model laws and regulations covering insurer licensing, risk-based capital, holding company supervision, market conduct, producer licensing, credit for reinsurance, ORSA, group supervision and many other topics. Adoption rates vary: the Credit for Reinsurance Model Law and the Insurance Holding Company System Regulatory Act are near-universal, while consumer-protection models are adopted more selectively.
The NAIC operates the Financial Analysis Working Group (FAWG), the Securities Valuation Office (SVO) which assigns ratings to insurer investment portfolios, and System for Electronic Rates and Forms Filing (SERFF). Internationally, the NAIC represents US states at the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) and was a principal architect of the Covered Agreement on insurance and reinsurance with the EU (2017) and UK (2018) on reinsurance collateral and group supervision.
There is no UK analogue to the NAIC. UK insurance regulation is centralised in the PRA and FCA, so no coordinating body between sub-national regulators is required. The closest functional parallel is the role played by EIOPA across EU member states, although EIOPA is a creature of EU regulation with direct legal powers, whereas the NAIC is a private association whose outputs depend on state adoption.
This entry is part of the Apex Insurance Wiki. Last reviewed by Matt Bartlett on 2026-06-05. Next review: 2026-12-05.
Apex Insurance Brokers Limited. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN 724952. Registered in England and Wales, Companies House 07014570. This entry provides general information about UK insurance concepts and is not regulated advice. Consult your insurance broker on your specific position.
Apex Insurance Brokers serves UK professional services firms and commercial businesses. Call 0117 325 0027, email hello@apexinsurancebrokers.co.uk, or request a quotation.
Get a quote