Insurance Commissioner Jones announces that $54 million was recovered for California consumers last year

Dave Jones, the Insurance Commissioner for the state of California, has announced that the California Department of Insurance (CDI) has managed a recovery of over $54 million for consumers through the investigations of complaints in addition to examinations of the market conduct of insurers last year. Commissioner Jones said that the top priority of the CDI is to protect consumers. He went on to say that as a result of “a lot of hard work” by the staff at the Department, they were able to return $54 million to the…

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New task force launched in California to fight against insurance fraud and an underground economy

The California Department of Insurance has announced that it will be joining the Department of Industrial Relations to fight against the state’s emerging underground economy. The two agencies have formed the Labor Enforcement Task Force in order to crack down on the violations against the state’s insurance and labor regulations that are rampant in this offshoot economy. Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones notes that this economy is mostly comprised of businesses who hire employees that are not fit for certain types of work. These businesses often fabricate documents concerning their employees…

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Consumer Watchdog chastises California’s Mercury Insurance for supposed illegal practices

Mercury is looking to raise its auto insurance rates by $89 million in California, a move that consumer advocates are calling “illegal.” Consumer Watchdog, a group concerned with making the California insurance industry more consumer friendly, claims that the insurer is looking to pass a new law that would allow it to raise rates for good drivers that have, simply, not driven for a period of time for any reason. Mercury Chairman George Joseph claims that the legislation the company is backing would save policyholders money, but Consumer Watchdog calls such…

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Improvements to CLCA underline the importance of insurance for California drivers

Officials in California made an announcement last week which explained a regulation change to help drivers to avoid expensive consequences when they are required to drive immediately after taking out a policy, as those who use the Low-Cost Automobile Insurance (CLCA) program will no longer have to endure the two week waiting period in order to receive their proof of policy. Currently, drivers who have just taken out CLCA coverage must either choose not to drive for the first two weeks of coverage, or they risk being caught behind the…

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Report shows insurance is an economic player in California

A new report has shown that the property and casualty industry for California insurance is responsible for bringing billions of dollars into the state. The report, which was released by the Insurance Information Institute, showed that in 2008, that sector of the insurance industry brought $34.7 billion into the economy. It also showed that insurers are responsible for approximately 2 percent of the total gross state product for California. In fact, in that state, there are more insurance professionals employed than in any other state in the country. In 2009,…

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