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June 09, 2011 at 11:58 AM
Last week, the California Assembly took one more step toward increased industry regulation. Members voted 4233 in favor of A.B. 999, a bill that seeks to place greater restrictions on LTC insurers and protect the public from unfair rate increases. Coming on the heels of what many already view as aggressive industry regulation, the bill was not a favorite among insurers, who argued that California regulators already have sufficient power to monitor and prevent unreasonable rate increases.
If passed as written by Assembly Member Mariko Yamada, D-Davis, Calif., the bill will mandate that insurers must wait either five or 10 years between rate-change applications, and will also change the way insurers measure loss ratios when applying for rate increases.
Other bill stipulations include:
| Limiting insurers ability to adjust rates based on investment performance | |
| Requiring the state insurance commissioner to outline the coverage provided by each LTC policy on the web | |
| Mandating that insurers show consumers the full policy language before coverage is purchased |
Among members of the states Insurance Committee, there was some conflict as to whether the bill should move forward, but it passed after a 75 vote. Meanwhile, state insurance commissioner Dave Jones wholeheartedly supports the bill, saying that unless A.B. 999 becomes law, consumers cant count on their premiums to remain stable from year to year.
