Date of Award
3-2010
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD)
Abstract
This dissertation deals with different issues together: regulators, market access, and antitrust in the insurance industry in the U.S. and Korea. The insurance market is regulated by the state alone and more than 51 requirements exist to establish an insurance company in the U.S. The insurance industry is also statutorily exempted from federal antitrust laws in certain conditions under the McCarran-Ferguson Act, which is facing proposals to reveal or revise it from Congress. The appropriate licensing policy is important because it can contribute highly to social welfare and protect the market failure. The proper application of antitrust law with a reasonable insurance immunity is also crucial to pursuing market efficiency and maximizing consumer welfare. I believe the McCarran-Ferguson Act partially serves those goals although it requires some revision like enacting another Statute such as the Optional Federal Charter Act. I suggest creating a symbiotic regulatory scheme by establishing a new federal authority, creating an optional federal chartering system, and allowing antitrust regulation to maintain at the state level. To promote modernization and globalization as well as to prevent systemic risk and inefficiency, federal regulation of the insurance industry is essential. The optional federal charter for insurers can help efficient and unified market access, which also can limit the scope of the McCarran-Ferguson Act's exemption only for state-chartered insurers.
The Korean regulatory regime requires not only structural reform, but also enhanced symbiotic cooperation between the existing regulators: the FSC, FSS, KFTC and other regulatory authorities. The principle of checks and balances must be secured to promote regulatory competition and protect against regulatory failure. It must come along with clarifying the function and procedure by clarifying and observing the related Acts and MOUs. The anticompetitive policy to control the number of insurance companies by restricting the issuance of new licenses must be abandoned because it is not an effective policy for either insurance companies or consumers in Korea. The Korean competition policy, as applied to the insurance industry is necessary to provide clear legislative revision, judiciary arrangement, and executive cooperation, especially for resolving which administrative guidance is legitimate action.
Recommended Citation
Chun, Sung Keun, "Symbiotic Reform to Regulate the Insurance Industry: Regulators, Market Access, and Antitrust Issues in the U.S. and Korea" (2010). Maurer Theses and Dissertations. 118.
https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/etd/118