Spotlight on Colorado

I recently had the opportunity to interview Colorado Commissioner Doug Dean to discuss the most prominent issues facing the Colorado insurance market. While Colorado may not be the hotbed of insurance maladies (like, say, California?), it does have its own concerns when it comes to a healthy and viable insurance marketplace. On page 16, Dean talks about Colorado’s transition to a tort-based automobile system, which resulted in a 15-27 percent savings for Colorado consumers, according to a study by the PCI. We also threw in the top 40 commercial and private passenger auto insurers in Colorado on page 40, along with some stats from Demotech on page 44.

This informal spotlight on the Colorado marketplace is in response to our readers’ requests for insurance news across the Western region, not just in California. We don’t want to leave anyone out, so this is our attempt to highlight the issues in neighboring states. In our next issue, look for an interview with Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, who will discuss the state’s medical malpractice crisis. And be assured that future issues will feature timely news and information regarding states across the region.

In other news, I recently received an e-mail from a reader regarding a possible fraudulent insurance company operating out of California. Ironically, the reader had contacted us after seeing a quote from Christine Riddell of Manning Riddell Insurance Services in a story I wrote a little over a year ago about Risk Retention Groups and Risk Purchasing Groups. I looked into the situation a little further, and found out that indeed, there did appear to be some fraudulent activity going on. To find out the latest, turn to page 8.

After reporting the story first on our Web site, www.insurancejournal.com, I spent a good deal of time fielding phone calls from concerned agents who were insured by Manning Riddell. Unfortunately as a reporter, I am unable to refund the monies due back to the policyholders, nor can I guarantee prosecution of the parties involved in these fraudulent activities. But we can bring this situation to light in hopes of accelerating the investigation and informing agents as consumers.

The bottom line here is that this story is the result of a tip from one of your peers. We may not have ever discovered Manning Riddell’s alleged fraudulent activity if it hadn’t been for San Francisco agent Tom Herz. Your tips do make a difference, so keep sending them our way.

E-mail me at cbeisiegel@insurancejournal.com.

Topics California Fraud Colorado