---
title: "Check whether state insurance law or a federal insurance statute governs the contract"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/insurance-law/check-whether-the-insurance-contracts-act-applies-to-the-contract/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A22-MA20261022-7-US"
practice_area: "Insurance Law"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Check whether state insurance law or a federal insurance statute governs the contract

> From the contract and the facts, list the state connection and any federal statute the lawyer names. Do not decide that the Insurance Contracts Act applies, and do not decide the governing law.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/insurance-law/check-whether-the-insurance-contracts-act-applies-to-the-contract/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Insurance Law](https://ailawframework.com/practice/insurance-law.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | From the contract and the facts, list the state connection and any federal statute the lawyer names. Do not decide that the Insurance Contracts Act applies, and do not decide the governing law. |
| What the lawyer must review | 15 U.S.C. § 1011 declares that continued regulation and taxation by the several States of the business of insurance is in the public interest, and that silence by Congress shall not be construed to impose any barrier to that regulation or taxation. Section 1012(a) subjects the business of insurance to state laws which relate to the regulation or taxation of that business. Section 1012(b) says an Act of Congress does not invalidate, impair, or supersede a state law enacted for the purpose of regulating the business of insurance, or a state fee or tax on that business, unless the Act specifically relates to the business of insurance. You decide whether a federal statute specifically relates to the business of insurance. The Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) is not that statute. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Check whether the Insurance Contracts Act applies to the contract](https://ailawframework.com/practice/insurance-law/check-whether-the-insurance-contracts-act-applies-to-the-contract.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: From the contract and the facts, list the state connection and any federal statute the lawyer names. Do not decide that the Insurance Contracts Act applies, and do not decide the governing law.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- After 30 June 1948, the Sherman Act, the Clayton Act, and the Federal Trade Commission Act apply to the business of insurance to the extent state law does not regulate it.
- The Cornell page identifies the Act of 9 March 1945 as the McCarran-Ferguson Act.

## Sources

- [15 U.S.C. § 1011, declaration of policy (McCarran-Ferguson Act)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1011) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [15 U.S.C. § 1012, regulation of the business of insurance by State law (McCarran-Ferguson Act)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1012) (checked 2026-10-22)

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*