Last week was pretty chaotic for me.
In all of that chaos I attended a town hall forum hosted by Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA).
For anyone not aware, we have a new Maryland Insurance Commissioner, Al Redmer, as of February 2015.
The purpose of the forum was to open a dialogue between the MIA and insurance professionals doing business in Maryland.
There were several topics discussed…
- When sending special notifications to Maryland policyholders to educate them on insurance, what notices should we include? What does the policyholder need to know? How do we help them make an informed decision when managing their insurance needs?
- Water back-up and water damage came up. Water back-up is the #1 home insurance claim across the country, and that will not change in the future. Do policyholders know what water back-up is, and what is flood? What kind of coverage are insurance companies providing to policyholders? What needs to change
- Maryland has experienced a variety of weather events lately; hurricanes, cyclones, tropical storms, etc. Weather events are creating a lot of claims, which in turn causes issues in rating and premium structures. MIA wants to know what insurance professionals feel is reasonable to help curve this cause of loss and create better rating structures in the future.
- With all of the technology today, Cyber Security is becoming very important for businesses. What are insurance professionals doing to reduce their chance of a data breach? Are policyholders, specifically businesses, purchasing cyber security insurance?
There were many other topics discussed but these are the big topics for the forum and are a serious concern for the insurance industry. Some of these topics are even being discussed at the federal level.
MIA is dedicated to helping Maryland policyholders navigate the insurance market and help them make an informed buying decision.
My policyholders get frustrated every day with insurance related issues; from claims, to billing, to coverages, to premium. I myself get frustrated every day on behalf of my policyholders.
There are individuals out their working hard to provide the appropriate types of insurance and help consumers make sense of insurance. They are also trying to be fair and do what is right for the greater good.
Whenever you have a concern about your insurance you should always reach out to your insurance agent to discuss it.
You can also find more information by visiting MIA at, http://www.mdinsurance.state.md.us.
Insurance is not easy, so ask a professional.
Pamela