A nonprofit group in California is suing the California Department of Insurance for access to more information about consumers' life and annuity complaints.
The Life Insurance Consumer Advocacy Center wants to see details about the number and types of complaints received, according to a petition that the group filed March 13 in a state court in Los Angeles.
The group also wants to see the reports and data that the department staff used to prepare the department's annual report.
"The statistics requested by petitioner are important information that could be used to establish a baseline against which to compare complaints in the future," the group says in the petition.
Access to baseline data could help the group determine whether California's new annuity standards law, which is based on a model law update developed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, changes how likely consumers are to complain about annuity sales, the group says.
The group previously complained about complaint data access in November.
The department declined to comment on the new suit.
In November, a department representative said the department posts extensive, company-specific performance data, including complaint and enforcement data, on its website.
The department "maintains that individual complaint information and data is confidential," the company representative says, citing state laws regarding disclosure of individual complaints.
Credit: Shutterstock
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.