498
Opinion of the Court
industry.' " App. to Pet. for Cert. 36a (quoting Pireno, 458 U. S., at 129).
Reasoning that the liquidation of an insolvent insurer possesses none of these attributes, the court concluded that the Ohio priority statute does not involve the "business of insurance." App. to Pet. for Cert. 45a.
A divided Court of Appeals reversed. 939 F. 2d 341 (CA6 1991). The court held that the Ohio priority scheme regulates the "business of insurance" because it protects the interests of the insured. Id., at 350-351. Applying Pireno, the court determined that the Ohio statute (1) transfers and spreads the risk of insurer insolvency; (2) involves an integral part of the policy relationship because it is designed to maintain the reliability of the insurance contract; and (3) focuses upon the protection of policyholders by diverting the scarce resources of the liquidating entity away from other creditors. 939 F. 2d, at 351-352.4
Relying upon the same test to reach a different result, one judge dissented. He reasoned that the liquidation of insolvent insurers is not a part of the "business of insurance" because it (1) has nothing to do with the transfer of risk between insurer and insured that is effected by means of the insurance contract and that is complete at the time the contract is entered; (2) does not address the relationship between insurer and the insured, but the relationship among those left at the demise of the insurer; and (3) is not confined to policyholders, but governs the rights of all creditors. Id., at 353-354 (opinion of Jones, J.).
We granted certiorari, 504 U. S. 907 (1992), to resolve the conflict among the Courts of Appeals on the question whether a state statute governing the priority of claims
4 One judge concurred separately on the ground that the McCarran-Ferguson Act was not intended to modify the longstanding, traditional state regulation of insurance company liquidations. See 939 F. 2d, at 352 (opinion of Edgar, J.).
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