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Ultimate Effects of McCarran-Ferguson Federal Antitrust Exemption on Insurer Activity are Unclear

GAO-05-816R Published: Jul 28, 2005. Publicly Released: Aug 03, 2005.
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Highlights

This letter transmits our briefing slides describing the potential effects of the federal antitrust exemption included in the McCarran-Ferguson Act (McCarran) on insurer activities. On May 26, 2005, we briefed Congressional staff on the results of our review. Specifically, we assessed existing insurance practices that might violate federal antitrust law absent the McCarran exemption and identified current state authorities related to antitrust laws applicable to insurance. In a separate GAO legal opinion, Legal Principles Defining the Scope of the Federal Antitrust Exemption for Insurance, published in March 2005, we assessed the types of insurance-related activities that courts have found to be exempt from federal antitrust provisions under the McCarran exemption.

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Antitrust lawFederal lawFuture budget projectionsInsurance companiesInsurance lossesInsurance regulationLaw enforcementTax exempt statusInsurance premiumsAntitrust laws