As part of a coordinated national investigation, California state insurance regulators held a hearing on May 23, 2011 to probe one particular life insurer’s claims settlement practices. Just as in the Florida hearing described in our May 20, 2011 advisory, at issue was the life insurer’s use of the Social Security Death Master File (DMF), a publically-available database containing information on deceased Americans. California’s efforts are part of a larger coordinated effort, organized by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), to determine life insurers’ compliance with state unclaimed property laws and state unfair insurance claim settlement practices acts.

In attendance at Monday’s hearing were officials from the subpoenaed insurer, California insurance regulators, California’s State Controller, as well as insurance regulators from Florida and Minnesota, among others. The panel took aim at a number of practices that it considered “troubling.” Specifically, the subpoenaed insurer was accused of attempting to boost profits via selective review of the DMF.

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