The Insurance Regulatory Information System (IRIS) is a database of insurance companies in the United States run by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
IRIS is designed to provide information about insurers' financial solvency.
If the ratios do not fit into a predetermined range, then IRIS may identify the company for regulation by appropriate authorities.
The system acts as an early-warning protection, which aids state insurance departments to pick out those companies that show financial problems.
The ratios are merely guidelines, though: often a financial disaster comes without warning, or defies prediction.