California Department of Insurance: $54 Million Recovered in 2011

The California Department of Insurance recovered more than $54 million for consumers through consumer complaint investigations and market conduct examinations of insurance companies in 2011, California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones announced on Tuesday.

The department’s consumer services and market conduct branch has two divisions. One division focuses on assisting consumers and the other focuses on examinations of insurance companies.

The consumer services division operates the consumer communications bureau, which handles the (800) 927-HELP consumer hotline and other bureaus, including health claims, claims services, and rating and underwriting services. The division recovered over $49 million for consumers in 2011, according to the department.

The market conduct division recovered roughly $5 million for consumers. The division consists of the field claims bureau and a field rating and underwriting bureau, which perform examinations of insurance company claims, underwriting, rating and marketing practices.

Topics California