National · U.S. federal government
The federal picture: AI policy, preemption, and US insurers
There is no single federal law regulating how insurers use AI. Under the McCarran-Ferguson Act, insurance is regulated by the states, and federal law does not displace state insurance regulation unless Congress acts specifically on the business of insurance. Federal AI policy is currently deregulatory, and the question of who governs AI, the federal government or the states, is unresolved: a proposed ten-year ban on state AI laws was struck from the 2025 budget bill, and a December 2025 executive order directs federal agencies to challenge conflicting state AI laws. Neither targets insurance. For insurers, the binding rules today remain state-level. As of June 2026.
What it covers
Insurance in the United States is regulated primarily by the states. The McCarran-Ferguson Act (15 U.S.C. 1012) provides that the business of insurance is subject to state law, and that no Act of Congress is to be construed to invalidate, impair, or supersede a state law regulating the business of insurance unless the federal Act specifically relates to the business of insurance. The practical effect is that the rules on insurers' use of AI come from state insurance departments and the NAIC framework that states adopt, rather than from a single federal regulator.
Federal AI policy is currently set by Executive Order 14179, titled Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence, signed January 23, 2025. It revoked the prior administration's order (Executive Order 14110 of October 30, 2023) and directs agencies to review and roll back policies treated as obstacles to AI development. The federal posture is deregulatory rather than prescriptive, and it sets no AI compliance obligations specific to insurers.
Whether the federal government or the states govern AI is unresolved. A proposed ten-year moratorium that would have barred states from enforcing their AI laws was removed from the 2025 budget reconciliation bill by a 99 to 1 Senate vote on July 1, 2025, leaving state authority intact. On December 11, 2025, Executive Order 14365 directed federal agencies, including a Department of Justice task force, to challenge state AI laws as preempted or unconstitutional. Neither action addresses insurance specifically, so state insurance rules continue to apply while the broader preemption question is contested. This is a fast-moving area; verify the current status against the primary sources.
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