How the NAIC Works
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is the U.S. standard-setting and regulatory support organization created and governed by the chief insurance regulators from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. Through the NAIC, state insurance regulators coordinate on shared priorities, develop standards and model laws, exchange expertise, and strengthen insurance oversight while retaining regulatory authority in their own jurisdictions.
Understanding Leadership and Decision-Making
State insurance regulators lead and govern the NAIC, setting priorities, directing committee work, and making policy decisions. Learn how the organization is structured, how decisions are made, and how stakeholders can participate in the process.
Who Makes Policy Decisions?
State insurance regulators govern the NAIC and make its policy decisions. They establish organizational priorities, lead committees, and oversee the association's work. The NAIC's officers are state insurance regulators elected by their peers, and the NAIC's CEO reports to those officers.
What Is the Role of NAIC Staff?
NAIC staff support the work of state insurance regulators through research, policy analysis, and legal, technical, data, and operational expertise. Staff facilitate and support the regulatory process but do not set or vote on insurance regulatory policy.
How Does the NAIC Committee Process Work?
The NAIC's committee system is led by state insurance regulators. Committees, task forces, and working groups study issues, develop proposals, review stakeholder feedback, and vote through a structured process.
How Can the Public Participate?
State insurance regulators encourage stakeholder engagement throughout the policymaking process. Opportunities for participation include open meetings, posted materials, exposure drafts, written comments, and public discussions.
Roles, Responsibilities, and Support
Learn about state leadership, shared resources, and staff support.
The NAIC is led by state insurance regulators. Its members are the chief insurance regulators from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories. The state-based system enables tailoring and addressing unique risks at the local level, while relying on a high degree of coordination and consistency through the NAIC in areas such as financial solvency oversight, where large national and international firms benefit from that stability.
Each state retains its full authority and autonomy to oversee insurers, enforce its laws, and make decisions for its own market and residents.
No. NAIC staff provide professional, technical, and operational support to help state insurance regulators carry out their work. Staff do not make policy decisions or vote on NAIC proposals. Instead, they help regulators evaluate issues, manage complex projects, develop resources and support the day-to-day work of the state-based insurance regulatory system.
NAIC staff expertise includes:
Research and policy analysis: Monitoring insurance market trends, emerging risks, and regulatory developments to help state regulators assess issues and options.
Legal and technical support: Assisting regulator-led groups with drafting, review, and technical analysis for model laws, model regulations, guidelines, handbooks, and other regulatory tools.
Data, financial, and market analysis: Supporting state regulators with data collection, financial reporting, solvency monitoring, market analysis, and other information used in insurance oversight
The Committee Process
At the NAIC, state regulators work through committees, task forces, and working groups focused on issues such as financial oversight, market conduct, consumer protection, health, life, property and casualty insurance, and international matters.
Issues may originate throughout the NAIC. A state-regulator-led group studies the issue and may draft a proposal, which can then move to a parent committee. Some proposals also advance to the Executive Committee and Plenary for a vote by the broader NAIC membership.
The Framework for Regulatory Decision-Making
State insurance regulators organize much of the NAIC’s work through committees, task forces, working groups, and Plenary. Committees broadly oversee major areas of insurance regulation. Task forces focus on specific issues. Working groups do detailed research, drafting, and review. Task forces and working groups operate under the umbrella of the appropriate committee. Plenary is the gathering of the full NAIC membership and acts on matters that need approval by the chief state insurance regulators.
An issue or proposal may move through one or more working groups, task forces, and committees before reaching the Executive Committee and Plenary for consideration and approval, when required. This process helps state insurance regulators study issues, receive public feedback, and make decisions through discussion and voting.
What These Groups Do
- Study current and emerging insurance issues.
- Review data, research, and market developments.
- Develop model laws, model regulations, guidelines, and other regulatory tools.
- Gather input from consumer representatives, industry participants, academics, and other interested parties.
- Coordinate regulatory practices and sharing expertise among states.
- Make recommendations and voting on work products within their authority.
How Regulatory Work Moves Forward
State insurance regulators carry out NAIC work through several groups, each playing a different role in researching issues, developing proposals, and making decisions.
Plenary
The full NAIC membership that acts on matters requiring membership approval.
Committee
Oversees a broad area of insurance regulation.
Task Force
Focuses on a specific issue or initiative.
Working Group
Conducts detailed research, drafting, and technical review.
Public Participation and Regulatory Outcomes
Learn how the public can engage in the process, how proposals move through the NAIC, and how model laws and shared resources support insurance regulation.
The NAIC committee process provides interested parties and other members of the public with opportunities to follow state insurance regulators’ work and share their perspectives and expertise. Depending on the project, the process may include exposure drafts, public meetings, and posted materials.
Attend public meetings, both in-person and virtual.
Read published meeting agendas and minutes, project histories, stakeholder presentations, and supporting materials, including received comments.
Review draft proposals.
Share their written and verbal feedback on proposals during written public comment periods.
In a system built on collaboration and coordination, public feedback helps inform the work. State insurance regulators review that input before making their final decisions as they consider how a proposal may affect consumers and markets.
Each initiative is different, but many NAIC projects follow these basic steps:
Issue identification: State regulators identify a shared challenge, an emerging risk, or an opportunity to further enhance oversight.
Research and discussion: A state-regulator-led group examines the issue, reviews data, and considers possible approaches.
Draft development: The group develops a proposed model law or regulation, guideline, standard, white paper, or other work product.
Public input: When applicable, drafts are published, and interested parties are invited to comment.
Regulator deliberation and revision: Regulators assess the feedback and determine whether changes are appropriate.
Committee review and voting: The proposal moves through the required regulator-led groups for consideration and approval.
State action: When state adoption is required, each jurisdiction decides whether and how to enact such proposals under its own laws and procedures.
State insurance regulators develop NAIC model laws through a public, state-regulator-led process. An NAIC model law is proposed language developed by state insurance regulators to address an issue that may require consistent treatment across states or a minimum national standard. A model law is not a binding federal or state law. Each state decides whether and how to adopt it through its own process and timeline.
A model regulation gives more detailed rules or steps that help carry out a law. Both are developed through state-regulator-led NAIC processes. Neither one automatically applies in any state. Each state decides whether and how to use them.
Related: Learn more about how NAIC model laws and regulations work, including public comment, approval votes, and state adoption. [Link to: /about/how-naic-model-laws-work]