Lawmakers Ask Colo. to Crack Down on Auto Insurance Companies

Democratic lawmakers asked the Colorado Division of Insurance to crack down on auto insurance companies and fine them $250 a day if they fail to submit timely information to a database that tracks uninsured drivers.

Robert Holden, a policy analyst for the Department of Regulatory Agencies, told lawmakers insurance companies are not filing timely reports, which affects the accuracy of the database.

Holden notified lawmakers that there has not been a single instance in which the Division of Insurance has fined an insurance company for failing to update records on time, even though state law requires a fine of $250 a day.

“The Division of Insurance isn’t really helping consumers in the state of Colorado by refusing to enforce the laws,” said Rep. Dorothy Butcher, D-Pueblo.

Rep. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, said in the six years the program has been in place, “the Department of Motor Vehicles has never reported the insurance violations to the Division of Insurance and in six years the insurance commissioner has never asked for it.”

Bill Imig, a lobbyist for auto insurers, said many of the problems that plagued the auto insurance database six years ago have been fixed.

He said some small insurance companies may not be complying with the law that requires them to fix problems and notify customers within 45 days and those companies should be fined. He said bigger companies like Allstate file weekly updates on all clients and there was no need to respond to individual complaints.