Online Auto Insurance: Recent Ohio and Conn. Regulatory Actions Highlight Officials' Supervisory Role

    RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA, November 12, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Recent announcements that regulators in Connecticut have recovered more than a million dollars this year for policyholders and that their counterparts in Ohio earned important approval of their financial oversight activities highlight the broad range of services these state officials provide consumers, according to Online Auto Insurance (OAI).

Insuring private vehicles is big business, and policyholders can often feel overwhelmed when comparing car insurance quotes online, far less trying to navigate the claims process or make sure they are dealing with a financially stable coverage provider. Fortunately, regulatory agencies nationwide exist to help consumers with those and other issues.

The Connecticut Insurance Department reports it got back nearly $4 million for residents of that state from January through September. The recouped funds are the result of state officials' helping to negotiate settlements between policyholders and their coverage providers, one of the many services provided by regulators.

Regulators in every state are there to help resolve claim disputes, make sure that companies are engaged in proper business practices and impose penalties on those who violate state law, among other actions.

Connecticut officials also fined companies more than $265,000 for violating state law and gave that money back to taxpayers by way of the state's general fund.

And regulators do more than just help work out settlements. They are also tasked with ensuring that companies doing business in their states remain financially solvent and are authorized under state law to take action against insurers, with steps including suspension of a company's business activities and even liquidation of assets.

Regulators in Connecticut and other states monitor the financial condition of companies so that appropriate regulatory action can be taken in the event those businesses become insolvent.

http://www.ct.gov/cid/cwp/view.asp?q=254384

Ohio regulators announced recently that the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has endorsed their financial regulation of insurers in the Buckeye State.

The NAIC's accreditation program maintains standards for financial-solvency regulation of insurers.

Ohio officials last week received accreditation for a full five-year period under the NAIC program, which is meant to ensure proper oversight of companies that do business in multiple states.

To learn more about this and other coverage issues, readers can go to http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/ where they will find informative resource pages and a helpful rate-comparison generator that can help shoppers quickly evaluate their coverage options.

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