North Dakota Insurance Department Recovers $5.5M for Consumers in 2010

North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm reported that the North Dakota Insurance Department helped recover or save more than $5.5 million for North Dakota citizens in 2010.

This number represents money recovered on behalf of North Dakotans through the insurance department’s hotline, through complaints filed by consumers against insurance companies and agents, and through investigations performed by the department. It also includes benefits received through the department’s State Health Insurance Counseling (SHIC) and Prescription Connection (PC) programs.

New to the report this year is information on the department’s fraud investigations. In 2010, the department received 94 fraud referrals, totaling more than $1 million in suspicious claims.

In 2010, the insurance department hotline handled 8,300 phone calls, helped 110 walk-in clients and processed 235 formal complaints. The department also handled nearly 13,200 SHIC contacts and more than 2,100 PC contacts.

More information may be found in the department’s 2010 Consumer Assistance, Enforcement Action and Fraud.