April 18, 2014. This year, the South Dakota Legislature passed a package of measures to enhance consumer protection in the field of insurance. These bills gave the Division of Insurance more authority to protect consumers against unfair claims, allow the division to impose fines on companies who violate those standards and give the public more information about ongoing investigations.
These four measures were titled as follows:
House Bill 1050, "An Act to revise certain enforcement actions by the insurance director."
House Bill 1052, "An Act to authorize additional disclosure regarding certain insurance investigations and examinations."
House Bill 1054, "An Act to establish consumer protection standards regarding certain insurance claim practices and to provide for certain penalties
Senate Bill 52, "An Act to authorize the informal settlement of insurance examinations.”
For the first time, the Division will have the authority to impose a fine on insurance companies who violated unfair claims standards. Previously, fines could only be imposed with the consent of the insurance company. Another change allows the Division to share more information with the public about the status of unfair claims investigations.
This change came about after news reports arose concerning the inability of the Division to prevent certain actions by insurers, as well as a lack of authority to act once the division has suspended an insurer’s license. As an examination of the division’s regulatory authority indicated:
Under existing law, the division can suspend, revoke or refuse to renew a license until fines are paid, but cannot independently fine insurers or agents without their consent.
“Once DOI has revoked a license, they no longer have leverage over a licensee to ensure future compliance with South Dakota law and regulations,” Roberts said in her report. “Consumers are then left with insurance contracts that are still in force with an insurance company DOI no longer has authority to regulate.”
A section of these new laws give the Division of Insurance the ability to negotiate settlements in lieu of revocation, allowing enforcement to continue, while maintaining the ability of the state to regulate the company.
For more information about South Dakota Division of Insurance, contact the Goosmann Law Firm at info@goosmannlaw.com or call 712-226-4000.
Follow Dan Lederman on Twitter @DanAtGLF!