Insurance commissioner

Nextgen i.i. Announces Its Registration as an International Insurer in Puerto Rico

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, November 14, 2023
Professional Services, Health, Consumer, Insurance, Health Insurance, Hispanic, Yale University, Stonebridge International Insurance Ltd, Insurance commissioner, RDMS, History, Nextgen, National Association, Master of Science, NAIC, Population Health Management, Public health, Family, IPMI, OCI, Knowledge, Commissioner, Emergency medicine, Management, Nursing

), a prominent provider of insurance solutions, proudly declares that earlier this year it obtained its official registration as an International Insurer in Puerto Rico.

Key Points: 
  • ), a prominent provider of insurance solutions, proudly declares that earlier this year it obtained its official registration as an International Insurer in Puerto Rico.
  • Operating under the US flag, Puerto Rico boasts a robust regulatory framework designed to protect and foster free market competition, particularly within the insurance and banking sectors.
  • Legal protections are firmly established under US Federal and Puerto Rico's constitutions, with recourse available through federal or State courts.
  • The company plans to launch its newly created suite of international health insurance products and services during the last quarter of 2023.

Top Five Questions Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara Must Answer About his Wildfire Insurance Plan

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, December 13, 2023
Insurance commissioner, Public records, Commitment, California Public Records Act, Language, Insurance, Multimedia, Senate, Hearing, Insurers Committee, Commissioner, Legislation, Consumer Watchdog, Risk management, Life insurance

Commissioner Lara will testify about his plan before an Assembly Insurance Committee Oversight Hearing this afternoon.

Key Points: 
  • Commissioner Lara will testify about his plan before an Assembly Insurance Committee Oversight Hearing this afternoon.
  • Commissioner Lara announced a deal with insurers and plan for regulations in September that he said would expand home insurance coverage for Californians.
  • The center of the plan was a supposed "85% commitment" by insurers to increase insurance sales in wildfire areas.
  • "Is the Insurance Commissioner finally ready to prove how his plan will get a single new homeowner access to insurance in California?

32 California House Representatives Express Concerns About Insurance Commissioner Lara's "Sustainable Insurance Strategy," Says Consumer Watchdog

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, November 8, 2023
Consumer Watchdog, Delegation, Insurance, Sale, Attention, Consumer Federation of America, Insurance commissioner, Multimedia, Commissioner, Representative, Democrat, Proposition 103, Health insurance, Whaling

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Thirty-two members of California's Democratic Congressional Delegation wrote a letter to Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara this week expressing concern that a plan he announced in September would diminish the Insurance Commissioner's regulatory power and threaten the consumer protections established in insurance reform Proposition 103.

Key Points: 
  • We believe it is important to keep California consumer interests at the forefront of your decision-making process.
  • Prop 103 made the Insurance Commissioner's office an elected post and Representative Garamendi was the first elected Commissioner in California.
  • Consumer Watchdog warned last week that the deregulation deal cut by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara with the insurance industry will not expand access to affordable insurance for California homeowners or small businesses.
  • Documents uncovered by Consumer Watchdog through a public records request reveal that the quid pro quo for allowing insurance companies to plunder California – the insurance industry's "commitment" to resume the sale of insurance – is riddled with loopholes.

Consumer Watchdog Warns Governor, Legislative Leaders that Insurance Commissioner Lara's Deregulation Deal with Insurers Has No Consumer Benefits

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, November 2, 2023
Consumer Watchdog, Insurance, Sale, News, Insurance commissioner, Politico, State Farm, Lawyer, Multimedia, Commissioner, Allstate, Proposition 103, Senate, Property insurance, Cryptocurrency, Health insurance

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumer Watchdog has written Governor Gavin Newsom, Senate pro tem Toni Atkins and Speaker Robert Rivas to warn that the deregulation deal cut by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara with the insurance industry will not expand access to affordable insurance for California homeowners or small businesses.

Key Points: 
  • Commissioner Lara refused to respond to the revelation and instead attacked Consumer Watchdog for saving consumers money.
  • Politico reported last night that the insurance industry is parroting the same talking points in a new website and ads defending deregulation with a similar attack on Consumer Watchdog.
  • "When the insurance industry and the Insurance Commissioner start syncing their talking points consumers should check their wallets," said Carmen Balber, executive director of Consumer Watchdog.
  • Politico reported that the insurance lobbying group, American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA), behind the attack on Consumer Watchdog had simultaneously launched a campaign to promote its deregulation plan with Insurance Commissioner Lara.

Consumer Watchdog Challenges Recidivist Mercury Insurance for Policyholder Price-Gouging, Discrimination and Deception

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Multimedia, Commissioner, California Department of Insurance, CDI, Consumer Federation of America, Press release, Book, California Department, Intervention, David Good (driver), Consumer Watchdog, Prop, Proposition 103, Left–right political spectrum, California Insurance Code, Mercury General, United States Coast Guard Legal Division, Public participation, Insurance commissioner, News, Child, Mercury, Insurance, Property management, Cryptocurrency

Consumer Watchdog said its participation in the matter would focus on the company's violations of Proposition 103, the 1988 insurance reform initiative.

Key Points: 
  • Consumer Watchdog said its participation in the matter would focus on the company's violations of Proposition 103, the 1988 insurance reform initiative.
  • Consumer Watchdog noted that Mercury had previously promised CDI it would stop many of these practices, which are unlawful under Proposition 103, but nevertheless continued to violate the law.
  • Mercury, as a repeat offender, must pay a steep price or no insurer will bother to obey the law.
  • Consumer Watchdog looks forward to working with CDI prosecutors to bring Mercury to justice – which we believe means barring Mercury from doing business in the state."

Securing Your Sanctuary: A Guide to Home Selection With Insurance Risk in Mind for Bay Area Home Buyers

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, October 3, 2023
Insurance, Uncertainty, Estate agent, Face, Allstate, Wildfire, Policy, Eye, Research, Multimedia, Climate change, SAN, California Insurance Commissioner, Knowledge, Insurance commissioner, State Farm, Napa State Hospital, Real estate, Property insurance, Reinsurance, Risk management, San Francisco Bay Area, Farmer

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Atlasa is the world's first and only data-driven Real Estate Brokerage. Our team seeks to provide home buyers and sellers with timely insights about the real estate market to keep you informed about your home search.

Key Points: 
  • With major insurers like State Farm and Allstate halting homeowners insurance coverage in California, it has become imperative for potential buyers to select a home with insurance risk in mind.
  • With major insurers like State Farm and Allstate halting homeowners insurance coverage in California, it has become imperative for potential buyers to select a home with insurance risk in mind.
  • Governor Gavin Newsom and California's Insurance Commissioner, Ricardo Lora, have acknowledged the need for significant changes to regulate the state's home insurance market.
  • So, what can Bay Area home buyers do to secure their sanctuary in the face of these insurance challenges?

Consumer Watchdog Says Lara's Undisclosed Deal Will Allow Insurance Companies to Use Algorithms And Reinsurance Costs to Hike Home Insurance Rates, Potentially Turning California Into Florida

Retrieved on: 
Friday, September 22, 2023
Commissioner, Insurance, Consumer Watchdog, Democracy, Algorithm, Multimedia, Insurance commissioner, Proposition 103, Property insurance

"Consumer Watchdog will not allow Lara to derail the right of consumers to challenge the insurance companies or the Department, under which Consumer Watchdog has saved Californians over $3 billion over the last twenty years.

Key Points: 
  • "Consumer Watchdog will not allow Lara to derail the right of consumers to challenge the insurance companies or the Department, under which Consumer Watchdog has saved Californians over $3 billion over the last twenty years.
  • We will carefully monitor the Commissioner's and his agency's actions, and, as we have for decades, defend and protect the rights of California voters.
  • "The use of catastrophic modeling and adding of reinsurance costs to premiums has pushed Florida premiums up 2 to 3 times higher than California's" said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog.
  • "California is in danger of becoming Florida with these changes that mimic the failed strategies in the Florida.

Insurance Industry Fails to Win Backroom Bailout in CA Legislature

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, September 12, 2023
Exercise, Commissioner, Insurance, Pressure, State, CDI, Insurance commissioner, Policy, Disclosure, Record, Multimedia, Burn, Element, Proposition 103, Book, Algorithm, California Public Records Act, Supreme court, Consumer Watchdog, Capitol, Letter, California Constitutional Conventions, News, Legislation, Life insurance, Property insurance

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept. 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The insurance industry's attempt to pass a secret, last-minute bailout deal failed when a legislative deadline passed Monday night with no bill in print. Consumer advocates condemned the backroom process and called for a public, transparent debate to address insurers' pullouts from the home insurance market. The industry's focus now shifts to Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, who documents show was at the center of negotiations shaping the bailout. Consumer Watchdog sent a formal records request to Lara today seeking the text of the proposal and his communications with insurers. 

Key Points: 
  • Consumer advocates condemned the backroom process and called for a public, transparent debate to address insurers' pullouts from the home insurance market.
  • The industry's focus now shifts to Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, who documents show was at the center of negotiations shaping the bailout.
  • A memo circulated by an insurance industry lobbyist last week sought support for "the plan" endorsed by Insurance Commissioner Lara.
  • Despite insurers claims of financial crisis, insurance companies made four times the profit on home insurance in California than the national average .

Mark Farrah Associates Assessed Profitability for Individual and Small Group Health Insurance Segments

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, August 22, 2023
Health Insurance, Professional Services, Health, Insurance, MLR, NAIC, Small group, Growth, Insurance commissioner, PMPM, Ratio, MFA, Sociology of small groups, National Association, National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Health insurance, Individual

Mark Farrah Associates (MFA), www.markfarrah.com , examined trends in membership, claims incurred PMPM (per member per month), adjusted premium PMPM, and MLR (Medical Loss Ratio) for the Individual and Small Group comprehensive segment leaders.

Key Points: 
  • Mark Farrah Associates (MFA), www.markfarrah.com , examined trends in membership, claims incurred PMPM (per member per month), adjusted premium PMPM, and MLR (Medical Loss Ratio) for the Individual and Small Group comprehensive segment leaders.
  • Based on an analysis of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Supplemental Health Care Exhibit (SHCE), MFA analyzed the profitability of both health insurance segments for 2022.
  • Both Small Group and Individual segments were profitable for insurers in 2022, but still have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels.
  • The Small Group segment continues to lose membership, down another 3.6% to 9.2 million in 2022.

IRC: U.S. Auto Claim Severity Surged During Pandemic

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, July 18, 2023
General Automotive, Professional Services, Insurance, Automotive, IRC, PD, Insurance Information Institute, FCAS, COVID-19, Vehicle insurance, COVID, National Association of Insurance Commissioners, MAAA, Insurance commissioner, John Carbone Porfilio, Injury, National Association, The Institutes, Safety

While U.S. auto claim frequency has declined over the past 20 years, claim severity increased and then surged since the global pandemic began in 2020, according to a newly published report from the Insurance Research Council (IRC) , a division of The Institutes.

Key Points: 
  • While U.S. auto claim frequency has declined over the past 20 years, claim severity increased and then surged since the global pandemic began in 2020, according to a newly published report from the Insurance Research Council (IRC) , a division of The Institutes.
  • The IRC report, Trends in Personal Auto Insurance Claims 2002–2022, showed that claim severity accelerated beginning in the mid-2010s.
  • During the pandemic years (2020–2022), claim frequency plummeted but claim severity skyrocketed, especially for vehicle damage claims, due in part to enormous inflationary pressures on replacement parts and auto body repair labor costs.
  • Porfilio added, “However, as claim frequency leveled off and claim severity accelerated, the average payment per insured vehicle for most coverages began to climb steadily until the 2020 drop due to COVID-19.