Online Auto Insurance: Penn. Fund Recoveries Stress Regulators’ Role
Regulators got $3.4 million from complaints filed in the first quarter of 2012
Pittsburgh, PA, April 30, 2012 --(PR.com)-- Regulators in Pennsylvania recently announced that they recovered $3.4 million in restitution funds, emphasizing the consumer protection role that they play in the entire industry, according to Online Auto Insurance.
Any shopper looking for cheap auto insurance quotes may also want to keep in mind the level of claims-satisfaction rates for insurers with rock-bottom prices. State regulators regularly post reports on complaints filed about insurers, and more than half of all complaints filed with regulators from 2009-11 were related to denials of claims or compensation delays, according to data compiled by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).
OAI recommends that consumers peruse the complaint listings on those websites along with user-submitted reviews on other websites to get the fullest picture of an insurer’s quality.
The recently recovered funds in Pennsylvania came from 3,211 written consumer complaints and inquiries submitted during the first quarter of 2012 and 27 enforcement actions. Regulators also reported collecting $71,000 in fines and penalties.
One of regulators’ investigations looked into Travelers, identifying violations in how the insurer deals with nonrenewals and midterm cancellations of policies for commercial vehicles, finding instances where Travelers failed to return unearned premiums within the required time period after midterm cancellations.
Auditors also noted a concern they had with a nonrenewal in which “notes indicated that if other lines of business were not written with Travelers, the company would have to request coverage be placed elsewhere.”
Regulators said the practice, called “forced bundling,” was unacceptable.
“The company must ensure this practice will not occur in the future,” regulators stated in their report.
In other nonrenewal cases, travelers failed to document notices that are required to be sent to policyholders when an insurer does not continue business with them, according to regulators.
Regulators found no violations related to Travelers’ personal auto policies. The entire case was closed in February.
Source: http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/industry_activity/9276/current_market_conduct_actions/599056
For more on this and related issues, head to http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/cheap/ for access to an easy-to-use quote-comparison generator and informative resource pages.
Any shopper looking for cheap auto insurance quotes may also want to keep in mind the level of claims-satisfaction rates for insurers with rock-bottom prices. State regulators regularly post reports on complaints filed about insurers, and more than half of all complaints filed with regulators from 2009-11 were related to denials of claims or compensation delays, according to data compiled by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).
OAI recommends that consumers peruse the complaint listings on those websites along with user-submitted reviews on other websites to get the fullest picture of an insurer’s quality.
The recently recovered funds in Pennsylvania came from 3,211 written consumer complaints and inquiries submitted during the first quarter of 2012 and 27 enforcement actions. Regulators also reported collecting $71,000 in fines and penalties.
One of regulators’ investigations looked into Travelers, identifying violations in how the insurer deals with nonrenewals and midterm cancellations of policies for commercial vehicles, finding instances where Travelers failed to return unearned premiums within the required time period after midterm cancellations.
Auditors also noted a concern they had with a nonrenewal in which “notes indicated that if other lines of business were not written with Travelers, the company would have to request coverage be placed elsewhere.”
Regulators said the practice, called “forced bundling,” was unacceptable.
“The company must ensure this practice will not occur in the future,” regulators stated in their report.
In other nonrenewal cases, travelers failed to document notices that are required to be sent to policyholders when an insurer does not continue business with them, according to regulators.
Regulators found no violations related to Travelers’ personal auto policies. The entire case was closed in February.
Source: http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/industry_activity/9276/current_market_conduct_actions/599056
For more on this and related issues, head to http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/cheap/ for access to an easy-to-use quote-comparison generator and informative resource pages.
Contact
Online Auto LLC
Charles Nguyen
909-784-2475
http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/
Charles Nguyen
909-784-2475
http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/
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