California insurance department sued by consumer group over public records

The Life Insurance Consumer Advocacy Center (LICAC) has filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Insurance (CDI) for violations of the California Public Records Act.

LICAC has repeatedly requested available data from CDI on complaints by California consumers concerning life insurance and annuities. The lawsuit states that CDI’s refusal to provide this data is unlawful and improper based on the California Public Records Act.

LICAC has requested the consumer complaint data to assist in efforts to advocate for consumers of life insurance, including annuities, and to work for passage of laws and regulations that protect life insurance consumers. The requested information concerns the number and types of complaints received by the department as well as reports and data that were used in the preparation of the tables and data presented in CDI’s statutorily required Annual Report.

The statistics requested by LICAC are important information that could be used, among other things, to establish a baseline against which to compare complaints in the future. Such a baseline would reveal whether SB 263 (Dodd) reduces or increases the number of complaints by consumers.

Consumer groups including LICAC opposed SB 263 because it harms consumers, including by allowing agents to falsely tell consumers that the agent has no conflicts of interest with the consumer and that the agent is obligated to make only recommendations that are in the best interest of the consumer.

“The California Department of Insurance has repeatedly and unlawfully denied our requests for available data, based on the California Public Records Act,” said Brian Brosnahan, Executive Director of LICAC. “After multiple attempts to obtain the requested data and information, including months of back and forth with department representatives, LICAC has no choice but to ask the courts to remedy the Department’s flagrant disregard of the law.”