July: 432 complaint files opened and $690,000 recovered for consumers

Our telephone hotline (1-800-562-6900) fielded nearly 12,000 calls last month.

We try to help people with insurance problems, and they bring us a wide range of issues: people unable to find affordable health coverage, people arguing with their insurers over denied or delayed claims, people looking for advise in dealing with storm damage, etc.

And if you call, rest assured that we won't try to sell you anything. We're the state insurance regulatory agency for Washington state. (Not in Washington? See here for contact info in your own state.)
Among the calls last month:

-We helped resolve a problem with an insurer -- the issue was whether the person's previous insurance qualified as "creditable coverage," meaning that pre-existing conditions would be covered -- resulting in the payment of $51,190 in claims.

-We helped a student get $900 for visits to her doctor's office. The claims had initially been denied under her student plan.

-We helped one person get a premium refund on a life insurance contract ($2,482) and another resolve delays in getting an annuity surrender request honored, resulting in a $254,448 payment to the consumer.

-And we helped a woman recoup a $261 life insurance premium that the company took from her father's bank account -- after his death.

That's just a sampling. There were many others: delayed auto insurance claims, trying to resolve disputed damage amounts for homeowner's claims, helping fix billing errors, etc.

Need help? Give us a call or e-mail us at AskMike@oic.wa.gov.