Insurance Regulators Give Poor Answers

Consumers who turn to their state insurance regulators for help when shopping for health or automobile insurance may be getting bad information.

A national study by the Center for Insurance Research indicated Thursday that state insurance regulators provided correct answers to basic questions about health insurance between 43 percent and 65 percent of the time.

For auto insurance, questions were answered correctly between 26 percent and 90 percent of the time, said the center.

Many state insurance regulators “are apparently dropping the ball either because of a lack of resources or because they do not make consumer services a priority,” said staff attorney Robert Schneider.

Executive Director Jason Adkins said the results are disturbing considering the help consumers need in sorting through confusing policies.