TWO SIDES OF THE COIN
Beefs with insurers fall in Kansas
In 2007, the state recovered a record amount of consumers' money, and fewer Kansans filed complaints over insurance claims, says the insurance commissioner.
BY DION LEFLER
The Wichita Eagle
State insurance regulators collected a record $15.1 million for consumers who had disputes with their insurance companies last year, according to Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger.
The 2007 recoveries topped the previous high of $13.6 million in 2005, Praeger said.
While recoveries were up, the number of complaints filed with Insurance Department investigators was down for the fourth year in a row, from 5,039 in 2004 to 4,420 last year, according to figures released by the office Friday.
Praeger said rising recoveries and falling complaints are both "obviously good news for consumers."
Last year was a big year for insurance claims, paced by $150 million in individual losses from the May 4 tornado that hit Greensburg, she said.
While hundreds of residents filed claims, only 10 filed complaints against their insurers. In one particularly complex case, Praeger said, the Insurance Department obtained $81,000 for a Greensburg homeowner who was originally offered $20,000 by his insurer.
"In that one, we even hired our own structural engineer," because investigators did not believe the insurer's estimates of damage, Praeger said.
In addition to the tornado, the year began and ended with damaging ice storms, primarily in western Kansas, Praeger said. "Ice and hail are probably our two biggest (causes) for property damage," she said.
When told of the $15.1 million in recovered damages, state Rep. Mario Goico, R-Wichita, said, "I think they're doing a fine job."
"This is why we have an insurance commissioner, to protect the people in this state," saidGoico, who serves on the House Insurance and Financial Institutions Committee.
Rep. Nile Dillmore, D-Wichita and the ranking minority member of the insurance committee, also complimented the department on its record-setting 2007 recoveries.
"I'm glad to see consumers getting some protection... without having to hire an attorney and go to court," he said. "I think Sandy does an admirable job."
However, he added that he thinks much of the escalation in recoveries may be just a reflection of inflation.
Praeger said she thinks the fall in
complaints is a result of two factors: more savvy customers who know their rights -- and limitations -- in their policies and aggressive enforcement that has weeded out some bad actors in the insurance business.
The department has a consumer affairs staff of 22, including four lawyers with prosecutorial authority.
One of the most common frauds is when an agent signs up a customer and offers to pick up the premium each month rather than having it mailed in. The agent pockets the money and the customer is unknowingly uninsured, often until he or she has to file a claim, Praeger said.
In most of those cases, the insurance company is not liable, but the customer can recover damages from the agent, Praeger said.
She said the department considers both sides in disputes and has found that fraud is a two-way street.
She recounted a story of one customer who beat four cars with a golf ball on a string and claimed it was hail damage, trying to bilk his insurance company for free paint jobs.
An Insurance Department investigator cracked that case when he closely examined the vehicles and found the word "Titleist" imprinted in one of the dents, she said.
Reach Dion Lefler at 316-268-6527.
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