Courts determine whether insurance laws are constitutional and interpret policy provisions; their decisions establish how policies are interpreted. Which entity does this?

• A. Legislature
• B. State insurance department
• C. Courts
• D. Insurance companies

Answer: (C)

Courts are the branch that handles challenges to laws and resolves disputes over contract language. When an insurance law is challenged as possibly unconstitutional, or when a policy’s wording is ambiguous in a dispute, the courts interpret the statute and the contract and decide how they should apply to the case. The rulings they issue become binding and form the precedent that guides how similar policy provisions are read in the future. The legislature creates laws, the state insurance department enforces regulations, and insurers draft policies, but it is the courts that determine constitutionality and provide the authoritative interpretation of policy provisions.