Particular insurance laws and regulations have tended to evolve on an ad hoc basis with little reference to an overall sophisticated system of insurance regulatory goals. This, in part, reflects the American pragmatic rather than theoretical approach to regulatory problems. The legislative and regulatory process tends to respond to specific abuses, perceptions and crises rather than being an outgrowth of an organized long-range systematic program.

Nevertheless, from various regulatory activities, objectives espoused and legislation enacted, the goals of insurance regulation can be discerned. Professor Spencer Kimball has done so in a most articulate and comprehensive manner. The following discussion, in part, provides a brief summary of parts of his classic work.