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March 16, 2009 at 08:00 PM
San Diego
A consumer representative wants insurance department Web sites to provide more information about specific insurers.
Daniel Schwarcz, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota Law School, talked about department Web site content here at a consumer liaison forum at the spring meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Washington.
Schwarcz is a “funded representative,” meaning that the NAIC provides funding for him to represent consumer interests at NAIC meetings.
Schwarcz said insurance departments should provide information about topics such as how well individual insurers pay claims, how often they are sued, and how often judges and juries have found bad faith.
The only information of that type that departments now provide consists of reports on complaints submitted to state insurance departments, Schwarcz said.
Most of the site information aimed at consists of educational materials, such as explanations of what insurance covers, or discussions about how much life insurance an individual should buy.
Althought this type of information is useful, Schwarcz said, consumers also need to know how reliable the coverage they buy really is.
