Glossary

NAIC (National Association of Insurance Commissioners)

The standard-setting body of the chief insurance regulators of all 50 states, D.C. and five territories, which writes model laws and coordinates oversight.

Also called: NAIC, National Association of Insurance Commissioners

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners is the organization through which the chief insurance regulators of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories work together. Founded in 1871, it isn't a government agency and can't enforce rules itself. Its members draft model laws and regulations, which become binding only when a state legislature or insurance department adopts them, and set common standards for accounting, solvency and examinations.

Much of what life insurance buyers encounter traces back to NAIC models: illustration rules, the best interest standard for annuity sales, replacement disclosures and the guaranty association model law. The NAIC also maintains the statutory accounting rules insurers follow, risk-based capital formulas and a national database of insurer financial filings. Say, hypothetically, a state adopts the NAIC's annuity suitability model: agents selling annuities there must then follow its training and documentation requirements.

For consumers, two NAIC tools are especially useful: the Life Insurance Policy Locator, which helps families search for policies of someone who has died, and complaint data on individual insurers, including the complaint index. See The NAIC and how insurance rules are written, The NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator: how to use it and The NAIC complaint index and how to use it.

Last reviewed October 4, 2026

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Related terms

Insurance commissioner The official who heads a state's insurance department, licensing insurers and agents, reviewing policy forms, monitoring solvency and handling complaints. Statutory accounting The conservative accounting rules state regulators require insurers to use in filings, built to show whether a company can pay its policyholders. Guaranty association A state safety net, funded by assessments on insurers, that continues coverage or pays claims up to set limits when a life or annuity insurer fails. Best interest standard A conduct rule requiring agents and advisers to recommend products that serve the customer's needs without putting their own pay first. Reserves Liabilities a life insurer must hold on its balance sheet, as required by state law, to cover future claims and benefits owed on policies in force.

Related guides

AI regulation in insurance: Colorado, the NAIC bulletin and New York How regulators govern insurers' use of AI and outside data in life underwriting: Colorado's rules, the NAIC model bulletin, and New York's 2024 circular letter. How to choose a life insurance company A five-part checklist for picking a life insurer: financial strength, price for your health class, product fit, service and complaints, and who sells it. How life insurance is regulated in the U.S. States regulate life insurers under the McCarran-Ferguson Act. What state regulators check, where federal agencies step in, and how it protects you. How to file a complaint against a life insurer Step-by-step: go to the insurer first, then your state insurance department. What to gather, what to write, what happens next and what a complaint can't do. IUL illustrations and Actuarial Guideline 49 How the NAIC's Actuarial Guideline 49 limits the returns an IUL illustration may show, what changed in 2015, 2020 and 2023, and what it cannot do. The 100 largest life insurance companies in the U.S. The 100 largest U.S. life insurance groups by 2024 individual life premiums (NAIC): the top 25 in a table, the rest by type, and what size does not tell you.