California Department of Insurance
California Department of Insurance:
The number of people opting to have at least a life insurance policy has gone up during the recent years secondary to the increased awareness of the necessity of having a life cover as well as increased cost of living. The educational levels of the people have improved which resulted in people becoming more conscious about the needs of having insurance cover to take care of them during illness, disability, loss of work due to medical reasons, loss of movable and immovable assets or even death. Also more and more people are considering insurance as an investment. There are increased number of people who are determined to succeed in insurance as an industry. This result in increased competition among insurers, lack of information being provided to the policy holders or consumers, increased number of cases of frauds being committed etc. The role of having a law enforcement agency becomes extremely important in this situation.
Insurance in California is valued above $90 billion and is considered one of the largest in the industry all over the world. Every state in the United States of America has its own law enforcement agency. Because of the strict rules and regulations which are being enforced by the California Department of Insurance, the insurance industry in California has attained a lot of success in the recent years.
The California Department of Insurance can be considered as a consumer protection agency. It was established in the year 1868. The department makes the laws and regulations and ensures that these are being followed by the companies dealing with insurance in the state. It has several functions which include protecting the consumers against malpractice, maintaining the stability of the market, ensuring a healthy competition among insurers etc. It undertakes financial surveillance also regularly. The department also gives licenses to the insuring companies, agents etc
California Insurance Commissioner is the over all in charge of the department. He is the executive to whom all officers report and oversees the functions of the department. The present commissioner is John Geramendi who is very dedicated to the performance of the department and very keen to protect the consumers of insurance. He is working hard towards meeting his promise of making California Department of Insurance the best consumer protection agency in United States of America. He is very
competent and has good awareness of insurance industry and he is also well experienced, which helps him in handling the consumer complaints efficiently. Because of his expertise in the field, he has been ranked number two in the United States of America by President Bill Clinton; in the year 1995.He has lowered homeowner and auto insurance rates in the state as well as formed a successful anti fraud division in the department.
The department issues bulletins, newsletters etc periodically. These help in spreading the latest information in the industry among the public. It also helps in clarifying the departments explanation of various laws as well as other issues which come up from time to time. The California Department of Insurance is constantly on the move looking for opportunities to improve the functioning of various divisions of the department. Earlier the department relied on the traditional mail system for the delivery of newsletters or other publications but considering the cost and time factor, it had been exploring newer technologies for other options. It has recently launched a free email subscription facility on the website. The aim of the new email facility is to improve the communication between the department and other insurers as well as the consumers. Subscribers would receive the newsletters as well as other publications of the department
The Insurance Information and Privacy Protection Act (IIPA) protect all individuals against misuse of his/ hers personal identity and information which are usually submitted to agents for the issue of a policy. This act prohibits any individual who has access to any consumers personal information to use these information in any context other than related to the particular policy.
The customer service division is part of the California Department of Insurance. It gathers all queries regarding the activities of the department including any need of clarification of the laws related to insurance, or any complaints related to any consumer claims. This is mainly done through telephone. The Consumer communications bureau has a toll free telephone line which helps the division collect all the queries which are raised by the public. This is a great relief to the consumers who wish to have some clarification regarding some issue. The consumer education and outreach bureau will contact other law enforcement agencies as well as civic and community centers and help in spreading awareness regarding laws and regulations of insurance. The claims service bureaus job is to handle all complaints regarding consumer claims. It undertakes all investigations related to the complaint and solve the issue.
The California Department of Insurance also has a fraud division which works towards reducing the fraud existing in the insurance industry by tracking down, investigating and taking into custody people who conduct insurance fraud. Thus the division helps in protecting the public from any financial loss and other related stress. If someone lies about something which would lead to a benefit to the particular person or if someone is denied what is supposed to be his, it is considered to be a fraud. The fraud is investigated thoroughly by the fraud division before any decision is taken. The fraud which are handled by the division include automobile, property or personal injury, workers compensation, health insurance as well as property related claims.
District Attorney Program Report- The department gives funds to investigate workers compensation insurance fraud by local district attorneys. The program is run under the supervision of the Commissioner Workers' Compensation Insurance Fraud Program This new social insurance program can be considered a system without any error.
California Organized Investment Network (COIN) is a joint effort among the California Department of Insurance, the insurance industry, community affordable housing and economic development organizations, and community advocates. It was established in 1996.This is a voluntary program and provides increased returns to investors as well as benefits to Californias undeserved urban and rural communities.
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