24-A M.R.S. §2381-A: Purposes

The purposes of this Act are:

1. Prohibition of certain behavior. To prohibit price-fixing agreements and other anticompetitive behavior by insurers;

2. Protection for policyholders and the public. To protect policyholders and the public from the adverse effects of excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory rates;

3. Promotion of price competition. To promote price competition among insurers so as to provide rates that are responsive to competitive market conditions;

4. Provision of regulatory procedures. To provide regulatory procedures for the maintenance of appropriate data reporting systems;

5. Improvement of insurance. To improve availability, fairness and reliability of insurance;

6. Authorization of action. To authorize essential cooperative action among insurers in the rate-making process and to regulate such activity to prevent practices that tend to substantially lessen competition or create a monopoly; and

7. Encouragement of practices. To encourage the most efficient and economical marketing practices.