About Nebraska Insurance Laws, Health Insurance and Regulations…
Nebraska is home to a robust insurance industry that is regulated by the state’s Department of Insurance. The Nebraska insurance industry is compelled to comply with the state’s regulations or risk facing severe penalties. The state has regulations in place that protect consumers from malicious activity, but they also ensure that these consumers cannot exploit insurance companies themselves. The Nebraska insurance industry provides a wealth of services to consumers throughout the state.
As in other states, drivers in Nebraska are required to carry auto insurance coverage. The Department of Insurance has determined that drivers must maintain at least a minimum level of insurance coverage in the state. This minimum level of coverage must include $25,000 per person per accident; $50,000 for bodily injury per accident; and $25,000 for property damage. There are certain vehicles that are exempt from the Nebraska insurance requirements. These vehic
les are those with dealer plates, 30-day plated vehicles, boats, snowmobiles, all trailers, and campers on the back of trucks (Though the trucks themselves must be insured).
The Nebraska insurance industry is required to comply with the state’s regulations, but there are no regulations that make homeowners or property insurance mandatory. Thus, property owners are free to obtain coverage as they please. Those interested in purchasing homes are often required to purchase some kind of insurance protection to protect against natural disasters and other events that could mean financial loss. These requirements are often a matter between a consumers and their financial instruction, rather than one between the potential property owner and the state. As such, many of the regulations that govern this sector of the Nebraska insurance industry exist to protect consumers from malicious business practices and excessive premiums.
Health insurance coverage will become mandatory throughout the U.S. in 2014, when the provisions of the Affordable Care Act take full effect. The law requires states to build their own health insurance exchanges, which are meant to provide residents with affordable access to the health care plans they will be required to have. The Nebraska insurance industry has shown support for an exchange program, but state legislators have chosen to opt out of the state operating the program itself. Instead, this duty will fall to the federal government, which will build an exchange that will be operational by 2014.
An exchange could provide health insurance coverage to t he more than 229,000 Nebraska residents that are currently uninsured, including some 46,000 children. The state has chosen not to build its own exchange due to the financial implications that are involved in such an endeavor.
Nebraska Insurance Resources:
Nebraska Insurance Commissioner: Bruce R. Ramge, Director
Nebraska Department of Insurance Website: http://www.doi.ne.gov/
Nebraska Insurance Licensing Info: http://www.doi.ne.gov/license/ce_index.htm
File Insurance Complaint: http://www.doi.ne.gov/forms/complaint.htm
