Insurance Commissioner Announces More Than $40 Million in Restitution Payments to Pennsylvania Consumers in First Six Months of 2017

HARRISBURG, Pa., Aug. 10 -- The Pennsylvania Insurance Department issued the following news release:

Insurance Commissioner Teresa Miller today announced the Insurance Department reclaimed $40,244,992 for more than 28,000 consumers throughout the state during the first six months of 2017.

The Insurance Department is charged with upholding fair business practice standards for consumers, companies, and insurance professionals to ensure that consumers in Pennsylvania receive all protections to which they are entitled under the state's laws and regulations. This work involves researching and resolving complaints from consumers, investigating allegations of misconduct from insurance companies, agents, brokers, and others, and ensuring that practicing professionals are properly licensed.

"Ensuring consumers are afforded all of the rights and protections guaranteed to them by Pennsylvania law is what we work for," said Commissioner Miller. "Protecting consumers and holding businesses to the highest standards continues to be our top priority."

During the first six months of 2017, 28,113 consumers around Pennsylvania received some form of restitution payment or credit. Below are some examples:

* Restoration of stolen funds when an agent collected payment from a consumer for a policy or annuity but did not send the money to the insurance company;

* Processing and payment of previously denied or underpaid claims when a company did not pay a claim as it should under the consumer's policy;

* Refunding of overcharged premiums when an insurance company was found to be charged premiums above the rate that had been approved by the Insurance Department;

Also, over the past five years, the Insurance Department has provided significant restitution to consumers under a multi-state settlement with life insurance companies. As a leader in this ongoing examination of life insurance companies, Pennsylvania has helped not only recover financial benefits for consumers, but also entered settlement agreements with many life insurers requiring them to reform their business practices. Some companies were making selective use of the Social Security Administration's Death Master File (DMF), and instead of paying policy benefits upon a policyholder's death, the companies were only terminating payment of annuity benefit. These companies have now committed to properly using the DMF to identify potentially unpaid insurance benefits and locate beneficiaries.

Since 2012, this investigation alone has resulted in $632,617,202 reclaimed for more than 38,000 beneficiaries.

Commissioner Miller also noted that in some cases, the department's findings can result in additional penalties, such as a suspension or revocation of a license, being assessed against the offending party.

If you have a question about your insurance or need to file a complaint, you may contact the Insurance Department's Bureau of Consumer Services at 1-877-881-6388 or online.