The

INSURANCE RECORD THE VOICE OF TEXAS INSURANCE Published Since 1934 • Dallas, Texas November 20, 2008 • Vol. 74 No. 24

J. Bob Speaks Well of Texas—

CFA eyeballs States’
Insurance Department Websites

WASHINGTON—The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) released a new study of the auto and home insurance information provided on state insurance department websites. The study, State Insurance Department Websites: A Consumer Assessment, found considerable differences in the usefulness of information such as the rates and practices of individual insurance companies. State insurance department websites in six states were found to be “excellent,” while those in 18 states were deemed to be “inadequate.”

Brickbats and/or Bouquets

CFA is sending the report to all state insurance departments

with a personal letter urging the 45 jurisdictions whose websites are not yet excellent to make improvements.

“At a time when consumers are under increasing financial pressure, state insurance departments can do their part by making available current information about the rates, solvency, and complaints of individual insurers as well as tips for consumers to use to secure fairer and faster claims settlements,” said J. Robert Hunter, CFA’s director of insurance (and former acting Texas Insurance Commissioner). “And it’s essential that insurance departments widely publicize the continued on page 8

TDI: It’s No SL Insurer —

Provident Capital Indemnity Is
Way More Limited Than It Lets On

In This Issue

TDI Notes Relatively Quiet September for enforcements

The Soft Market is Bottoming-Out 5

AIG Staunches Agent hemorrhage With Undeferred Cash 6

AUSTIN—The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) cautions consumers that the public is being offered investments in life settlements bonded wholly or in part by Provident Capital Indemnity Ltd. of Costa Rica. The bonds are included with the investor agreement to purportedly provide a guarantee to the investor in the event the insured lives longer than the projected life expectancy.