§ 412:1 — Purpose

The purpose of this chapter is:
I. To protect policyholders and the public against the adverse effects of excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory rates.
II. To promote price competition among insurers so as to provide rates that are responsive to competitive market conditions.
III. To cause the provision of price and other information to enable consumers to purchase insurance suitable for their needs and to foster competitive insurance markets.
IV. To improve availability, fairness, and reliability of insurance.
V. To provide regulatory procedures for the maintenance of appropriate data reporting systems as necessary to allow the commissioner to monitor degree of competition in the marketplace.
VI. To authorize essential cooperative action among insurers in the ratemaking process and to regulate such activity to prevent practices that tend to substantially lessen competition or create a monopoly.
VII. To encourage the most efficient and economical marketing practices.
VIII. To prohibit price fixing agreements and other anti-competitive behavior by insurers.
IX. To ensure that policy forms, endorsements, applications, or other contract language comply with provisions of the insurance laws and do not contain provisions which are inequitable, misleading, deceptive, or encourage misrepresentation.
X. To protect policyholders and the public against the adverse effects of any policy provision that is not in the public interest or is contrary to public policy.

Legislative History

2003, 150:1. 2008, 212:3, eff. June 16, 2008.