Conn. Consumers to Get ‘Mints on Pillows’ Treatment

Connecticut consumers dealing with the state’s insurance regulatory agency should be left feeling they were given “mints on their pillow,” according to the no-nonsense man in charge.

Insurance Commissioner Thomas R. Sullivan said he is conducting a thorough review of how the insurance department handles consumer complaints with an eye toward treating all complaints equally and making the public feel the department “put mints on their pillows,” which he said was his firm’s mission when he was in the private sector.

Sullivan spoke before a gathering of the Independent Insurance Agents of Connecticut.

As part of his strategy to revitalize the department, Sullivan has convened a new consumer council to represent “stakeholders not previously represented” including consumers, trial lawyers and even the medical society. “The insurance industry is well-represented already. We need a balanced perspective,” maintained the former senior vice president of Specialty Risk Services LLC, a third party administrator for workers’ compensation that is a subsidiary of The Hartford.

He said he wants Connecticut to be the “go to” state for insurance innovation even as it takes an “aggressive” stand against “malfeasance.”

Sullivan, who took over the post in April from Susan Cogswell, said he inherited a backlog of 3,000 product filings and has already implemented an action plan to tackle this. “This will not be tolerated,” he added. “I can’t be a barrier to companies’ innovation.”

In an apparent shot at Attorney General Richard Blumenthal who has previously slammed the department’s performance and intervened in insurance issues, Sullivan said he intends to “elevate” the department’s image but without “grandstanding.” He stressed that insurance regulation rests with his office, not with any other.

Sullivan strongly defended state regulation over federal regulation, suggesting that state commissioners across the country need to do a better job of publicizing their successes even as they further modernize and streamline operations.

Coastal Concerns

Acknowledging the ongoing concern over coastal property insurance, Sullivan maintained that Connecticut’s coastal insurance market is in good shape with more than 100 insurers still writing, even though the cost of coverage is high.

“We have a problem with affordability, not availability,” he argued. “Some increases are steep but we do have a competitive market,” he added, suggesting markets in neighboring New York and Massachusetts, for example, are much worse.

His assessment of the property marketplace was supported by insurance carriers represented at the same IIAC meeting.

Richard Van Edsinga, General Casualty Northeast regional vice president, was among the executives vowing to continue writing coverage in coastal areas. “We have an open market and are accepting new business,” Van Edsinga told agents “We have a pretty strong appetite.”

Van Edsinga noted that his company has gained better flexibility for coastal business since being bought in January by Australia-based QBE Insurance Group.

Peerless Insurance also “intends to remain open and be a stable market” in Connecticut, according to Michael Christiansen, president. Peerless Insurance is a member of Liberty Mutual Group’s Agency Markets business unit.

According to Jonathan Bennett, executive vice president for personal and small business lines, The Hartford remains “open for business” with distance to shore constraints. “We are very interested in remaining an open and viable market,” he told agents.

Regarding coastal commercial property risks, the carrier executives echoed Sullivan that the issue in the commercial property market as in the personal market is affordability not availability.

The carriers rejected the suggestion that Connecticut needs a property insurance residual market for wind exposure or a FAIR Plan. “With 100 companies, Connecticut can handle it,” said Van Edsinga.
“Let the private market solve the problems,” agreed Bennett of The Hartford.