State Insurance Offices
State insurance offices, also referred to as state insurance departments, are divisions of state governments which have statutory authority for the regulation and supervision of insurance companies and agents in their respective states. Each office is headed by an insurance commissioner who, depending on the state, is either elected by the people or is appointed by the state governor. In states in which elections are held, candidates are nominees of the policitical parties to which they belong.
The primary goal of state insurance offices is to serve the interests of consumers with respect to the operation of the insurance industry in their states. Their principal role is to license, regulate and supervise industry participants, including the following:
- Companies;
- Agents;
- Adjusters;
- Third party administrators;
- Health maintenance organizations;
- Premium finance companies;
- Continuing care facilities.
State Insurance Office Websites
The following are links to the consumer pages of all state insurance office websites. These pages provide information on the operation of each office, details of help lines and main contact numbers, assistance with complaints and other helpful information:
The offices also perform a number of related functions in support of their principal role. These include operating a complaints system whereby consumers can file complaints against companies, agents or other industry participants, in order that these can be investigated and appropriate action taken. Further functions include fraud detection and investigation, reviews of advertising and marketing materials, and the collection and analysis of statistical data such as that relating to premiums and claims.
A secondary but important role is the education of consumers. All offices produce a range of publications to help consumers in understanding and arranging homeowners and other personal lines of coverage. These publications cover areas such as shopping around for home insurance policies on the internet and comparing premium rates, and they often take the form of downloadable pdfs.
The offices also have an interest in influencing policy at the federal level, and for this purpose all commissioners, together with the chief regulators in each US territory, are represented by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).
