NAIC Names Wooley Chairman of Nat’l Consumer Protection Committees

Louisiana’s Acting Commissioner of Insurance, Robert Wooley, is the new chairman of two consumer protection committees by the president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

NAIC President Mike Pickens of Arkansas announced that Wooley will head the Consumer Liaison Committee and the Small Face Amount Working Group. Acting Commissioner Wooley will chair meetings for both groups at the NAIC Spring National Meeting that begins Saturday, March 8, in Atlanta, Georgia.

“I am very pleased that my dedication to consumer protection has been recognized on the national level, and I am honored to serve as chairman of both of these important committees,” Wooley said.

According to Wooley, the Louisiana Department of Insurance has long been regarded as a protector of the state’s insurance consumers. “Louisiana is only one of eight states whose insurance department received an A+ from the Consumer Federation of America for being adequately funded to protect consumers,” Wooley said.

Wooley added that consumers who are experiencing insurance difficulties should contact one of the Department’s Consumer Affairs divisions. “Consumers can call our office at 1-800-259-5300 statewide, or at 342-5900 in Baton Rouge, if they’re having a problem with insurance matters,” he says.

The acting Commissioner and his Consumer Affairs divisions will embark on what he calls Consumer Awareness Roadshows, beginning in April. “I, along with the Department’s Property and Casualty, Health, and Life and Accident Consumer Affairs staffs, will be visiting a mall near you this spring and summer,” Wooley said. “The purpose of these roadshows is to bring about greater awareness of our Consumer Affairs divisions and to let the public know that we’re here to help.”

The first roadshow is scheduled for April 5, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Cortana Mall as part of the Second Annual Community Showcase in Baton Rouge. Wooley and the roadshow heads next to Prien Lake Mall in Lake Charles on May 16-17. The Department will issue an advisory before each roadshow. Stops are also planned at malls in Monroe, Shreveport, Lafayette and New Orleans.