15 U.S.C. § 1012
Section 1012 · Regulation by State law; Federal law relating specifically to insurance; applicability of certain Federal laws after June 30, 1948
This is § 2 of the McCarran-Ferguson Act
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 711 court decisions — leading case Pilot Life Insurance v. Dedeaux (1987)
Most recently applied in Certain Underwriters at Lloyds, London v. 3131 Veterans Blvd LLC; MPIRE (May 2025)
Applied most in the Ninth Circuit Circuit (55 decisions)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 15 U.S.C. § 1011 · 29 U.S.C. § 1144 · 15 U.S.C. § 1
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
The business of insurance, and every person engaged therein, shall be subject to the laws of the several States which relate to the regulation or taxation of such business.
No Act of Congress shall be construed to invalidate, impair, or supersede any law enacted by any State for the purpose of regulating the business of insurance, or which imposes a fee or tax upon such business, unless such Act specifically relates to the business of insurance: Provided, That after June 30, 1948, the Act of July 2, 1890, as amended, known as the Sherman Act, and the Act of October 15, 1914, as amended, known as the Clayton Act, and the Act of September 26, 1914, known as the Federal Trade Commission Act, as amended [15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.], shall be applicable to the business of insurance to the extent that such business is not regulated by State Law.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
References in Text
Act of July 2, 1890, as amended, known as the Sherman Act, referred to in subsec. (b), is classified to sections 1 to 7 of this title.
Act of October 15, 1914, as amended, known as the Clayton Act, referred to in subsec. (b), is act Oct. 15, 1914, ch. 323, 38 Stat. 730, as amended, which is classified generally to sections 12, 13, 14 to 19, 20, 21, and 22 to 27 of this title and to sections 52 and 53 of Title 29, Labor. For further details and complete classification of this Act to the Code, see References in Text note set out under section 12 of this title and Tables.
Act of September 26, 1914, known as the Federal Trade Commission Act, as amended, referred to in subsec. (b), is classified generally to subchapter I (§41 et seq.) of chapter 2 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 58 of this title and Tables.
Amendments
1947—Act July 25, 1947, substituted “June 30, 1948” for “January 1, 1948”.