consumer protection insurance bills sponsored by insurance commissioner jones clear hurdles

8/6/2019 Consumer Protection Insurance Bills Sponsored by Insurance Commissioner Jones Clear Hurdles

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Consumer Protection Insurance Bills Sponsored by Insurance Commissioner Jones Clear Hurdles

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the sole purpose of selling insurance policies and annuities in order to provide further financial

protection to seniors, passed on a vote of 70-0. The bill is authored by Assembly Banking and

Finance Committee Chair Mike Eng and now moves to the Senate Insurance Committee.

AB 999, which would protect consumers from excessive premium rate volatility that has

characterized the long-term care insurance market by modifying the long-term insurancepremium rate development process, passed on a vote of 42-33. The bill is authored by

Assembly Aging and Long-Term Care Committee Chair Mariko Yamada and now moves to the

Senate.

AB1416, which is the annual omnibus bill for the Department of Insurance and makes minor

and technical changes to various code sections, passed on a vote of 75-0. The bill is authored by

the Assembly Insurance Committee and now moves to the Senate.

The package of Senate bills includes:

SB 51, which would implement broader protections for California consumers in the large group,

small group, and individual markets by conforming California law to the federal medical loss

ratio and rebate requirements as well as to the federal prohibitions against annual and lifetime

dollar limitations on essential health benefits, passed on a vote of 25-15. The bill is authored by

Senator Elaine Alquist and now moves to the Assembly.

SB 599, which would protect consumers from being unwittingly enrolled in life insurance

"retained asset accounts" by ensuring that beneficiaries have an opportunity to decide how

they want their life insurance proceeds paid, passed on a vote of 37-1. The bill is authored by

Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Christine Kehoe and now moves to the Assembly.

SB 621, which would prohibit disability insurance policies from containing discretionary clauses

that give discretionary authority to insurers to determine eligibility for benefits or coverage

insofar that these clauses give so much power to insurance companies that they can easilyjustify their denial of benefits in court even when the medical evidence overwhelmingly

supports the case of the disabled policyholder, passed on a vote of 37-0. The bill is authored by

Senate Insurance Committee Chair Ron Calderon and now moves to the Assembly Insurance

Committee.

SB 684, which would provide another level of protection for businesses by making workers'

compensation policies more transparent, requiring that these policies be subject to California

law, and prohibiting the practice of unfiled collateral agreements often used by insurers to gain

the advantage in arbitrations of disputes, passed on a vote of 23-13. The bill is authored by

Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett and now moves to the Assembly Insurance Committee.

SB 712, which would incorporate the essential elements of the National Association ofInsurance Commissioners (NAIC) Model Law relating to Property and Casualty Actuarial Opinion

into California law to ensure that the Department of Insurance retains its NAIC accreditation

status, passed on a vote of 39-0. The bill is authored by the Senate Insurance Committee and

now moves to the Assembly.


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consumer protection insurance bills sponsored by insurance commissioner jones clear hurdles

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