In North Carolina, the Department of Insurance celebrated its 100th anniversary with a commemorative coffee-table book, a video documentary, mementos and a party. In Indiana, the commission that oversees consumer complaints against the insurance industry has only three consumer consultants, who handle more than 5,000 complaints lodged each year, according to the Wall Street Journal . The commission has no investigators among its 78 employees. The Indianapolis Star editorialized, the conflicts of interest are so pervasive that the industry is actually regulating the regulators, rather than vice versa. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. Industry Agenda Legislation can affect the insurance industry in a number of ways.
Statutes governing civil lawsuits, especially caps on damage awards, are among the most important.
Insurance companies like losses to be predictable, because that ensures predictable profits. There s lots of ways you can undermine the regulatory process, Hunter of the Consumer Federation said. No-fault insurance efforts have clearly lost momentum. There hasn t been a no-fault auto insurance bill passed in any state in 24 years. No-fault laws in California and Arizona have been rejected in ballot initiatives.