insurance

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Fighting insurance crime doesn't require a cape and secret identity in North Carolina.

Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin and his stellar team of sworn law enforcement officers in the Department of Insurance have cracked down on insurance fraud with a vengeance.

Note the reports linked here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. This is merely a representative sample from the last two months.

These results are not surprising in light of both the rise in insurance fraud during economic downturns such as now and the lengthy history of fraud fighting that North Carolina's insurance regulator has had over the years: Goodwin's Criminal Investigations Division is the oldest of its kind in the nation, and celebrates 65 years of service this year.

To date in 2010, Goodwin and his expert criminal investigators have seen more than 165 cases successfully closed with more than $5.8 million in restitution and recoveries, 40 criminal convictions and more than 65 arrests. Last year Goodwin's administration recovered approximately $10.2 million in restitution for North Carolina families and businesses.

Commissioner Goodwin orders approximately one million policyholders to receive checks totaling $50 million

Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin wants to remind North Carolinians that starting this week, approximately one million policyholders will begin receiving refund checks from their auto insurance companies totaling more than $50 million. The refund distribution is a result of the 2009 auto rate settlement with the N.C. Rate Bureau (NCRB) that Commissioner Goodwin signed last July.

"We're the Largest State in the Whole Country with the Lowest Insurance Rates," He Says

Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin today announced that North Carolina drivers pay an average of $591.11 each year for auto insurance, the 8th lowest in the country and the lowest in the South according to a report from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin today released the 2009 statistics for the Department of Insurance's Consumer Services, Healthcare Review, Market Regulation, Criminal Investigations and SHIIP Divisions:

Sean Carr of A.M. Best recently interviewed me and a number of my fellow elected state Insurance Commissioners from around the country.

Among my comments were:

Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin wants to remind the state's 1.3 million Medicare recipients that the Medicare Part D annual election period started Nov. 15, and will continue through the end of this year.

Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin today announced that he has settled the workers compensation rate filings from the North Carolina Rate Bureau, the organization that represents the state's workers compensation insurance companies. The settlement ordered a 9.6 percent decrease to the voluntary market loss costs and no change (zero percent) to the assigned risk markets. The changes are effective April 1, 2010.

"I'm also proud that we were able to implement a public comment period for this filing, and I look forward to continuing this practice for future rate filings that the Department handles," said Commissioner Goodwin.

I just saw last nights Rachel Maddow show. She had a guy on her show that used to be a Right Wing Republican until he realized how wrong they were. I think he was C. Everett Koops (sp?) son. He wrote a book about his experiences as a Right Wing Republican. He spoke about what is happening now with Health Care Reform Town Halls and how the GOP, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Right Winged Organizations such as AFP are promoting violence against public officals and Democrats and how there is a subtext to the lies that could easily lead to a right winged fanatic killing someone. That is my fear, what will happen if some lunatic actually does commit a violent act towards a Democrat and public official.

You can read the full article at the below link:
http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/statehealthreform/northcarolina.html

Stable and Secure Health Care for North Carolina
How Health Insurance Reform will Benefit North Carolina
LOWER COSTS FOR RESIDENTS OF NORTH CAROLINA

•Ending the Hidden Tax – Saving You Money: Right now, providers in North Carolina lose over $1.3 billion in bad debt which often gets passed along to families in the form of a hidden premium “tax”. Health insurance reform will tackle this financial burden by improving our health care system and covering the uninsured, allowing the 113 hospitals and the 26,716 physicians in North Carolina to better care for their patients.