N.Y. comptroller loses liquidation bureau case

New York’s state auditor does not have the authority to audit the state Insurance Department’s Liquidation Bureau that protects claimants when an insurance company becomes insolvent.

Former Comptroller Alan Hevesi tried to conduct an audit of the division and its $3.3 billion in 2004 and then Hevesi sued when the insurance department refused to submit to the review.

The latest New York Court of Appeals ruling determined the bureau is not a state agency and the superintendent of insurance has a secondary role on behalf of distressed insurers, which gives the position broad fiduciary powers.