DELAWARE — The Delaware Department of Insurance (DOI) has published its annual performance and productivity data, indicating continued success in serving consumers throughout the state.
“In the face of inflation, climate change, the pandemic, and other challenges, our priority remains the same: the residents of our great state. Sharing these statistics each year gives consumers a glimpse into DOI’s broad array of work,” said Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro. “We’re expanding access to health insurance, fighting for affordable prescriptions, advocating for consumers in claims processing, and ensuring that carriers are complying with the law – and we’re not slowing down.”
DOI is made up of 98 employees, including 12 new team members. In 2022, the Department celebrated the internal promotions of 12 workers.
Commissioner Navarro’s national convenings to address the improper marketing of health plans have presented regulators with improved ability to address junk plans and other bad actors. The Department also made progress implementing healthcare affordability standards and increasing investment in primary care, while expanding options on the Health Insurance Marketplace and celebrating the largest enrollment in the state’s ACA history.
During the 151st General Assembly, DOI worked with legislators to pass about 20 DOI bills and engaged in roughly 50 others on topics ranging from consumer protection, to product affordability, to access to healthcare and medications.
Direct consumer assistance programs, such as those within the Delaware Medicare Assistance Bureau (DMAB) continued to report strong results, hosting 5123 one-on-one counseling sessions, and saving beneficiaries a combined $1.5 million. The Consumer Services Division managed over 3459 complaints and inquiries. Helping residents address claim settlement issues outside of court, the Legal Division reported 268 settled arbitration cases resulting in awards totaling more than $690,000.
On top of the sixth consecutive decrease in workers’ compensation insurance premiums, 1122 companies are saving a total of $6,977,337 on their costs through participating in the DOI’s Workplace Safety Program.
In Market Conduct, 5 completed insurer examinations resulted in $494,000 in fines, and 10 examinations are in progress. Almost 98,000 licenses were issued, and licenses total 204,748. Across all lines of insurance, more than 33,600 rates and forms were processed and approved.
The Bureau of Examination, Rehabilitation and Guaranty oversees the financials of 141 domestic companies that manage $768 billion in assets, and more than 2082 other companies operating in the state. They completed 31 financial examinations and have 34 exams in progress.
The Fraud Bureau received 525 insurance fraud referrals and tips resulting in a combined total of 15 substantiated civil and criminal violations of Delaware’s insurance fraud laws in addition to the collection of $9,488 in civil penalties.
The Captive Division welcomed a new Director while pursuing innovative licensing efforts and received 63 new applications. There are 730 captive licenses in effect.
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