View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2020/06/29/573717.htm

Tennessee Refunds $2.2M to Insurance Consumers So Far in 2020

Tennessee consumers have been repaid over $2.2 million so far in 2020 through mediation efforts by the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance’s (TDCI) that resulted in denied claims being overturned for policyholders, the department said in a statement.

The mediation process involves TDCI insurance investigators interceding between insurance companies and policyholders to get wrongfully denied claims overturned and paid for policyholders. In 2019, $4.2 million was returned by TDCI to Tennesseans.

“From the devastating storms of March and April to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tennessee consumers have faced personal and financial challenges like never before this year,” said TDCI Commissioner Hodgen Mainda, who urged all Tennessee insurance consumers who have a complaint or a question regarding their insurance policy to contact the department.

Tennessee insurance consumers who were unfairly denied a claim or who have questions about their policies should contact TDCI Consumer Insurance Services team at (615) 741-2218 or 800-342-4029 or visit us online at tn.gov/commerce. The monies returned to Tennessee consumers through mediation are part of the department’s work on behalf of consumers by TDCI’s Insurance Division staff.

Other areas of Tennessee’s insurance industry saw growth, including:

• 3,000 new insurance agents were licensed in 2020 bringing Tennessee’s total number of insurance agents to 228,422.
• 26 insurance companies were licensed in Tennessee since late 2019 bringing the total to 1,891 licensed insurance companies.
• Tennessee has licensed 203 captive insurance companies and 471 approved cell companies in Tennessee for a total of 674 risk-bearing entities (RBEs) compared to 652 at the end of 2019.

Source: Tennessee Department of Insurance