New York Recovered $32.2M for Policyholders Last Year

New York insurance regulators recovered $32.3 million last year for consumers who complained about insurers’ business practices and claims handling.

The Insurance Department investigates approximately 60,000 complaints a year. In all, 7,780 people across the state received money back as part of the resolution of their complaints.

Among the significant consumer issues addressed last year:

• The Department directed two insurance companies to offer to reinstate 260 homeowners’ policies across the state after finding that the insurers had improperly cancelled or non-renewed the policies. The terminations came to light when a Watertown-area woman complained that her insurance was cancelled while she was in the process of moving.
• Regulators directed one insurance company to offer to renew the homeowners’ policies of 113 Long Island property owners as the result of a complaint filed by one individual. An investigation revealed that the insurer had improperly failed to advise the homeowners of their options for obtaining new insurance when it non-renewed their policies.

“Sometimes the telephone call of a single consumer results in a wider examination of insurance company practices affecting many other consumers,” Superintendent James Wrynn said.

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Source New York State Insurance Department