Examkin

Question

Difficulty: EasyDepartment of Insurance Powers and Duties

Following an increase in policyholder complaints regarding a specific health insurance carrier, the state Department of Insurance initiates an inquiry. Which of the following actions falls strictly within the Department's authorized regulatory powers?

  1. A
    Enacting new statutory laws to permanently ban the carrier from operating in the state.
  2. B
    Filing felony charges and sentencing the carrier's executives to prison.
  3. Subpoenaing the carrier's business records and conducting a market conduct examination.Answer
  4. D
    Unilaterally rewriting the carrier's active contracts to retroactively provide higher benefit limits.

Answer

Subpoenaing the carrier's business records and conducting a market conduct examination.
The correct answer identifies a fundamental administrative power. Departments of Insurance have the statutory authority to investigate complaints, subpoena documents, and perform market conduct examinations to verify that insurers are operating legally and treating policyholders fairly.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the legal role of the Department of Insurance.
The Department is an administrative agency responsible for enforcing state insurance laws and protecting consumers.
Understanding the distinction between administrative, legislative, and judicial powers is necessary to answer the question.
2
Evaluate the given actions against administrative limitations.
Enacting laws is legislative; sentencing executives is judicial; rewriting active contracts violates contract law.
This eliminates actions that exceed the Department's statutory authority.
3
Select the action that represents standard regulatory enforcement.
Subpoenaing records and conducting examinations are core administrative duties used to monitor insurer compliance.
This directly aligns with the Department's mandate to oversee insurer practices.

Key Concept

Administrative versus Legislative and Judicial Powers
Rate this question

Topics

Department of Insurance Powers and Duties

More questions from this topic