Minimum Auto Liability Insurance in California

Financial Responsibility Laws & Minimum Liability Coverage Required

California's Compulsory Financial Responsibility Law requires that every driver and owner of a motor vehicle to be financially responsible for their actions.  The legally required minimum limits of liability insurance in California are as follows:

Bodily Injury

• $15,000 for death or injury of any one person, any one accident.
• $30,000 for all persons in any one accident.

Property Damage

• $5,000 for any one accident.

You can meet your financial responsibility in the following four ways:

1. Coverage by a motor vehicle or automobile liability insurance policy;
2. A cash deposit of $35,000 with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV);
3. A certificate of self-insurance issued by DMV to owners of fleets of more than 25 vehicles; or
4. A surety bond for $35,000 obtained from an insurance company licensed to do business in California.

It is required by the law in California that all drivers and owners have at least the minimum liability insurance or an approved alternative way so that they can pay for injury or property damage they may cause.  In the absence of the minimum liability insurance, the penalties are very severe.

When your car is involved in any accident for which you are legally liable, bodily injury (BI) liability covers your liability to others for injuries to them. Property damage (PD) liability covers your liability for damage to someone else's property.

A policy with BI of $15,000/$30,000 and PD of $5,000 will pay out as follows:

• The maximum limit for one person's injuries, medical expenses is $15,000 in the bodily injury part,
• In case two or more people are injured, the maximum limit for the accident will be $30,000;
• The maximum limit for damage to other people's property (their car, their fence, etc.) is $5,000.

The above mentioned insurance is required by the law and therefore you must have this required coverage. However, comprehensive coverage (other than collision), uninsured motorist, medical payments and collision insurance are not required by law.

What Could Happen If I Ignore This Law?

The best way to meet the financial responsibility requirements of the state is to purchase automobile liability insurance policy. If you have an accident not covered by insurance, then your license may be suspended. Regardless of who operates the vehicle, if you own the vehicle it is your responsibility to carry the minimum liability insurance. It is simply illegal to operate vehicles without meeting these requirements.

Your Premium Rights

Premium Rights:

• When your premium is misquoted.
• When your policy is subject to cancellation fees.

Can the Company Increase My Automobile or Residential Insurance Premium after the Policy is in Effect?

The insurer gets a time of sixty days from the effective date of policy to verify the rating and underwriting of a new policy. During this period, the company is required to notify you if it finds any error or change in premiums. After passing of sixty days, any notice of change in premium becomes ineffective.

Usually the premium is revised due to two reasons, either an error made by the insurance company or its agent or incomplete information provided by the insurance seeker. In this situation, the company must inform you about the change in premium in writing within sixty days from the date of issue of the policy i.e. effective date and the changed premium is charged from the effective date of coverage. However, if you do not want to proceed with the changed premium, you can always request the company to cancel the policy. The earned premium is calculated on a pro rata basis on the original quotation.

In case premium revision results from an error made by the company or its agent and you are not informed of the error within sixty days, the policy will remain effective as written at the original premium.

However, on expiry of sixty days the insurer may flat cancel the policy in case of misinformation and/or misstatement or other matters sufficiently serious to justify a flat cancellation.

Do I Have to Pay Any Penalty if I Cancel My Insurance Midterm?

Whenever you initiate cancellation process for any policy, the premium is calculated on a short rate basis in which the insurer retains part of the unearned premium to meet its administrative expenses. However, there are few companies that calculate the premium on pro rata basis. Therefore, you must review your policy agreement/contract to understand the cancellation provisions of your insurer.

Apart from the above, the broker may also retain the broker fee if you hired the services of a broker and signed an agreement. However, you are entitled to receive full refund of the broker fee if the broker acted incompetently or dishonestly. If any dispute over refund of broker’s fee occurs, you can forward your complaint to the Department of Insurance for review.

Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones Announces Arrests in Theft and Securities Fraud

Ponzi scheme allegedly bilked investors out of $2.5 million dollars

Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones announced today that Anthony Trae Carlson, 42, Mariah Waterfall O’Brien, 40, and Arvina Joyce Carlson, 68, were recently arrested and have been charged with violating multiple sections of the Penal Code and Corporations Code.

“This family conspired to rip off honest investors,” said Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones. “Thankfully, they were apprehended before defrauding additional victims.”

Anthony Carlson was charged with 40 felony counts, his wife Mariah O’Brien and mother Arvina Carlson were each charged with 23 felony counts. All three were charged with violating Penal Code section 487 (a), Grand Theft, violating Corporations Code sections 25110/25540 (a), necessity of qualification of security or transaction, violating sections 25401/25540 (b), sale or purchase of securities by means of written or oral communications containing false statements or omissions and also violating section 25541, use of a device, scheme or artifice to defraud.

Bail for Anthony Carlson has been set at $2.5 million dollars. Bail for both Mariah O’Brien and Arvina Carlson has been set at $1.9 million dollars. If convicted on all counts, Anthony Carlson faces a maximum sentence of 27 years, 8 months in state prison while both Arvina Joyce Carlson and Mariah O’Brien face a maximum sentence of 21 years in state prison.

According to California Department of Insurance (CDI) Investigators, between February 2005 and December 2008, all three suspects participated in an elaborate Ponzi scheme to defraud victims out of their investments. Each suspect represented to the victims that they either owned or had invested in an insurance company involved in the bail industry which they called State Bonding California. The investigation revealed that the suspects made several misrepresentations or omissions that the company conducted business in over 44 states and produced over one billion dollars in annual revenue.

At least one suspect used fraudulent multimillion dollar State Bonding California dividend checks to persuade victims to invest in the bogus company. Investments were offered to victims in the form of the sale of “membership interests” in State Bonding California. The investments were supposedly guaranteed with returns ranging between 19 to 21 percent. The suspects collected at least $2,514,650 from three different couples and one individual.

State Bonding California was never licensed to sell insurance by CDI nor was it licensed to offer securities by the California Department of Corporations. The investigation revealed that the only address associated with the company was a post office box located in Hollywood. In addition, none of the defendants were licensed to offer securities in the State of California. Investigators later determined that some of the monies collected from the victims were used to fund a lavish Hollywood lifestyle being lived by Carlson and his wife, O’Brien in the hills of Los Feliz, CA.

This case was investigated by the California Department of Insurance - Investigation Division’s Los Angeles Regional Office and is being prosecuted by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office - Major Fraud Unit.

Auto Insurance Renewal and Cancellation Rights

Renewal and Cancellation Rights:

The auto insurance renewal and cancellation rights discusses about your rights:

• When your automobile insurance policy is cancelled or non-renewed.
• When your residential insurance policy is cancelled or non-renewed.

Can an Insurance Company Cancel or Non-renew My Automobile Insurance Policy?
Once your policy is active for sixty days, it may be cancelled or non-renewed by the insurer for the following reasons:

• Non-payment of premium
• Fraud or material misrepresentation, or
• Substantial increase in the hazard insured against.

However, the insurance company must mail you or otherwise get or delivered at your last known address the reason at least ten days before the effective cancellation date for non-payment of premium and twenty days in case of all other reasons. For non-renewal, companies are required to forward you notice at least thirty days before expiry. This notice will explain that after your written request, the company would provide you the reason for non-renewal.

In case the insurer fails to serve you a notice for non-renewal as per law, your policy will remain active for thirty days from the date the proper notice is served upon you. In case you have already replaced your policy, coverage will terminate on the effective date on which you replaced the policy. Therefore, you have the rights:

• To receive written notice before your policy will be cancelled or non-renewed.
• To a statement of the reasons for the cancellation or non-renewal.

Your Auto Insurance Policy Rights

Department of Insurance protects the rights of insurance buyers. Infact, the Department of Insurance is concerned about the privacy and the protection of your legal rights involving personal insurance. Insurance contracts are mostly too complex and confusing to be understood by common people, especially to understand its nuisances. Therefore the department has clearly explained the rights and responsibilities of insurance buyers that must be respected by the insurance companies, brokers and agents.

Rights of insurance buyers can be divided into three groups as follows:

• Policy Rights
• Renewal and Cancellation Rights
• Premium Rights

Policy Rights:

• Type of information that can be obtained from you.
• Independent sources
• Disagreement with the information provided by the independent sources?
• Accessing your personal information

Type of information that can be obtained from you

While filling up the application, you are required to disclose certain personal information. This is required to assess your eligibility for insurance coverage and to calculate a price of coverage. For example, in case of automobile insurance you would be required to provide information such as driving record, use of automobile, mileage driven, and years of driving experience. In this case, almost all of the insurance companies will order a Motor Vehicle Report (MVR) for all the drivers listed on the insurance application. 

MVR is the official driving information compiled, generated and kept by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). MVR is the most authentic tool to verify accidents, traffic violations and license suspensions for all potential drivers listed on the application.

In case of unsatisfied judgements, license suspensions, major convictions and failure to have liability coverage at the time of an accident, California Insurance Proof Certificate filing is required. This is filed by your insurance company with the DMV. The filing requirement period can be up to three years. Note that traffic offence related major convictions such as hit and run, driving under influence, reckless driving etc. remains on the record for seven years from the violation date. On the other hand, minor convictions remain for three years.

Please note that SR22 is different from SR1. SR1 is the form for California Traffic Accident Report. In case of any accident, DMV rules require you to file SR1 within 10 days from the date of the accident, in case of any bodily injury, or property damage that exceeds $500 ($750 as of 1/1/03).

Independent Sources

Insurance companies use independent sources such as CLUE and ADD reports, procured from consumer reporting agencies to underwrite insurance policies. This is in addition to the Motor Vehicle Report.

Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange (CLUE) is a claims history report. It helps insurance companies in exchanging their claims records on drivers and vehicles. How does it help the insurance company? After you apply for a new automobile policy, your insurance company may get this report to verify the validity of the claims history as you mentioned on the application.

However, there is a difference between this report and MVR- This report reflects comprehensive losses or accidents valued below $500 ($750 as of 1/1/03) that may not appear on your MVR.

Additional Driver Discovery Report (ADD) gives details of all licensed drivers who live or previously lived in your household at any time. Insurance companies obtain this report to evaluate the increased liability exposure, if any, due to any undisclosed driver/s in the household. 

Disagreement with the information provided by the independent sources?

If your insurance company takes any action against you such as refusing an application for insurance on the basis of a report provided by an independent source, it must inform you. You must also receive the contact details of the credit bureau that provided the report. The contact details, to be provided by the insurance company, may include information such as name, address, phone number etc.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act provides you the right to dispute the accuracy or completeness of any information offered by the credit-reporting agency. You also have the right to receive a free copy of the report from the credit-reporting agency. Such free copy must be provided to you by the reporting agency within sixty days of your request.

The credit reporting agency is also required to remove or correct inaccurate or unverified information. This correction must be done within thirty days after you dispute it. However, the credit-reporting agency is not required to remove accurate data from your file unless it cannot be verified.

Accessing your personal information

Maintaining privacy and secrecy of the information collected by the company is the responsibility of the company. The company can use this information for issuing, servicing and continuing insurance policies, and processing claims. However, some persons or organizations may have access to your information. These include:

• Your insurance agent or broker .
• Persons performing a business function for the company: example, auditors.
• Independent or Public Adjusters.
• Actuarial or research organizations conducting statistical or research studies provided they maintain your anonymity.
• Other companies with which your company is affiliated.
• Non-affiliated persons or organizations for marketing purposes. However, you may indicate in writing if you do not want the information to be disclosed for such purposes. You may do this when you apply for coverage.

About us

In today’s era of advertising, buyers and consumers lack reliable information based on which they can differentiate between hype and fact, good offerings and bad offering and genuine price and undue price. The Informed Buyer provides you this reliable information, based on which you can make correct differentiation.

The Informed Buyer is a professional expert whose mission is to help you, the buyer, become an informed buyer, so that when you buy anything, you know what amount of material or services you are getting for the money that you are paying.

However, there is a difference between other sources of consumer information and The Informed Buyer. In addition to offering timely and correct information, The Informed Buyer also tells you how and on what basis you should compare two products or services.

The Informed Buyer provides you with the information on products and services from various consumer focused industries including Insurance, Mortgaze Lending/Loans, Investments, Real Estate, Travel etc. among many others. In order to facilitate easy understanding and searching of information, each sector is further divided into sub sector for example information on insurance sector is given under these sub-sectors: Life Insurance, Health Insurance, Auto Insurance, Home Insurance, Title Insurance, Travel Insurance, Business Insurance, General Insurance etc.

Services

Get News, Articles, Information and Resources on the following:

Types of Insurance:

• Auto Insurance
• Travel Insurance
• Home Insurance
• Health Insurance
• Life Insurance
• Machinery & Equipment Insurance
• Credit Insurance
• Financial Loss & Liability Insurance
• Marine Insurance
• Political Risk Insurance
• Professional Indemnity Insurance
• Errors & Omissions Insurance
• Terrorism Insurance
• Title Insurance
• Fire, Theft & Weather Insurance
• Directors’ & Officers’ Liability Insurance
• Product Liability Insurance

Types of Mortgage Lending:

• Secured/Unsecured Loans
• Personal/Cash Loan
• Home Loan
• Automobile Loan
• Business Loan
• Education Loan
• Auto/Vehicle Loans
• Credit Card Loan
• Debt Consolidation Loans

Your Geographical Region

As a potential buyer and/or consumer of insurance and mortgage products, you can find news, articles, information and resources for the following states:

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• District of Columbia
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

Resources: State Insurance Regulators

Alabama
Department of Insurance
201 Monroe St., Suite 1700
PO Box 303351(Zip 36130-3351)
Montgomery, AL 36104
334-269-3550
Fax: 334-241-4192
E-mail: insdept@insurance.state.al.us
www.aldoi.org

Alaska
Division of Insurance
Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development
Robert B. Atwood Building
550 W. 7th Avenue, Suite 1560
Anchorage, AK 99501-3567
907-269-7900
TTY: 907-465-5437
Fax: 907-269-7910
E-mail: insurance@alaska.gov
www.commerce.state.ak.us/insurance

Division of Insurance
Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development
PO Box 110805
Juneau, AK 99811-0805
907-465-2515
TTY: 907-465-5437
Fax: 907-465-3422
E-mail: insurance@alaska.gov
www.commerce.state.ak.us/insurance/

Arizona
Department of Insurance
Consumer Affairs Division
2910 North 44th St., Suite 210
Phoenix, AZ 85018-9932
602-364-2499
602-364-3100
Toll free: 1-800-325-2548 (AZ)
Fax: 602-364-2505 (Complaints)
E-mail: consumers@id.state.az.us
www.id.state.az.us

Arkansas
Department of Insurance
1200 W. Third St.
Little Rock, AR 72201-1904
501-371-2600
501-371-2640 (Consumer Services)
Toll free: 1-800-282-9134 (AR)
Toll free: 1-800-852-5494 (Consumer Services)
Toll free: 1-866-660-0888 (Criminal Investigations - Insurance Fraud)
Fax: 501-371-2749
E-mail: insurance.consumers@arkansas.gov
www.insurance.arkansas.gov

California
California Department of Insurance
300 Capitol Mall, Suite 1700
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-492-3500
415-538-4010 (San Francisco}
213-346-6464 (Los Angeles)
Toll free: 1-800-927-4357 (CA) (Consumer Services Division)
Fax: 916-445-5280
www.insurance.ca.gov

Dept. of Managed Health Care, California HMO Help Center
(We serve all California Consumers that are enrolled in a California HMO, Blue Cross of California PPO, and Blue Shield of California PPO)
980 Ninth Street, Suite 500
Sacramento, CA 95814-2725
Toll free: 1-888-HMO-2219 (HMO Health Center Consumer Complaint Line)
Toll free: 1-877-525-1295 (HMO Help Center Provider/Physician Line)
TTY: 1-877-688-9891(Toll free)
Fax: 916-255-5241(Complaints) or 916-255-2292(Independent Medical Review)
E-mail: GenInfo@dmhc.ca.gov
www.hmohelp.ca.gov

Colorado
Division of Insurance
1560 Broadway, Suite 850
Denver, CO 80202
303-894-7490 or 7499
Toll free: 1-800-930-3745 (CO)
TTY: 711
Fax: 303-894-7455
www.dora.state.co.us/Insurance

Connecticut
Insurance Department
Consumer Affairs Division
153 Market Street (Zip: 065103)
PO Box 816
Hartford, CT 06142-0816
860-297-3800
Toll free: 1-800-203-3447 (CT)
Fax: 860-566-7410
E-mail: ctinsdept.consumeraffairs@ct.gov
www.ct.gov/cid

Delaware
Delaware Insurance Department
841 Silver Lake Blvd.
Dover, DE 19904
302-674-7310
Toll free: 1-800-282-8611
Fax: 302-739-6278
E-mail: consumer@deins.state.de.us
www.delawareinsurance.gov

District of Columbia
Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking
810 First St., NE, Suite 701
Washington, DC 20002
202-727-8000
Fax: 202-535-1196
E-mail: info.disb@dcgov.org
www.disb.dc.gov

Florida
Office of Insurance Regulation
Department of Financial Services
200 East Gaines St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0322
850-413-3100
850-413-3140
Toll free: 1-800-342-2762 (FL)
TTY: 1-800-640-0886 (Toll free)
Fax: 850-488-2349
www.floir.com

Georgia
Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner
Two Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr.
704 West Tower
Atlanta, GA 30334
404-656-2070
Toll free: 1-800-656-2298 (GA)
TTY: 711
Fax: 404-657-8542
www.gainsurance.org

Hawaii
Insurance Division
Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs
335 Merchant St., 2nd floor, Room 213
PO Box 3614 (Zip: 96811-3614)
Honolulu, HI 96813
808-586-2790
Fax: 808-587-6714
E-mail: insurance@dcca.hawaii.gov
www.hawaii.gov/dcca/areas/ins

Idaho
Department of Insurance
700 West State St., 3rd floor
Attention: Consumer Affairs
Boise, ID 83720-0043
208-334-4250
Toll free: 1-800-721-3272 (ID)
Fax: 208-334-4398
www.doi.idaho.gov

Illinois
Division of Insurance
Department of Financial and Professional Regulation
100 West Randolph St., Suite 9-301
Chicago, IL 60601-3395
312-814-2427
Fax: 312-814-5416
E-mail: director@ins.state.il.us
www.idfpr.com

Division of Insurance
Department of Financial and Professional Regulation
320 West Washington St.
Springfield, IL 62767-0001
217-782-4515
Toll free: 1-877-527-9431 (Office of Consumer Health Insurance)
Toll free: 1-866-445-5364 (Consumer Assistance Hotline)
TTY: 217-524-4872
Fax: 217-782-5020 or 217-558-2083 (Complaints)
E-mail: director@ins.state.il.us
www.idfpr.com

Indiana
Department of Insurance
311 W. Washington St., Suite 300
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2787
317-232-2385
Toll free: 1-800-622-4461 (IN)
Toll free: 1-800-452-4800 x6 (In-state Senior Health Insurance Information)
Fax: 317-232-5251
www.in.gov/idoi

Iowa
Division of Insurance
330 Maple St.
Des Moines, IA 50319
515-281-5705
Toll free: 1-877-955-1212
Fax: 515-281-3059
www.iid.state.ia.us

Kansas
Kansas Insurance Department
Sandy Praeger, Commissioner
420 SW 9th Street
Topeka, KS 66612
785-296-3071
Toll free: 1-800-432-2484 (Kansas Only)
TTY: 1-877-235-3151 (Toll-Free)
Fax: 785-296-2283
E-mail: commissioner@ksinsurance.org
www.ksinsurance.org

Kentucky
Department of Insurance
215 West Main St.
PO Box 517
Frankfort, KY 40602
502-564-3630
Toll free: 1-800-595-6053
Fax: 502-564-1650
doi.ppr.ky.gov

Louisiana
Department of Insurance
1702 N. Third St.
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
225-342-0895
225-342-5900
Toll free: 1-800-259-5300
Toll free: 1-800-259-5301
Fax: 254-342-3078
E-mail: public@ldi.state.la.us
www.ldi.state.la.us

Maine
Bureau of Insurance
34 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333-0034
207-624-8475
Toll free: 1-800-300-5000 (ME)
TTY: 1-888-577-6690 (Toll free)
Fax: 207-624-8599
www.maine.gov/insurance

Maryland
Insurance Administration
525 St. Paul Place
Baltimore, MD 21202-2272
410-468-2000
Toll free: 1-800-492-6116
TTY: 1-800-735-2258 (Toll free)
Fax: 410-468-2020
www.mdinsurance.state.md.us

Massachusetts
Division of Insurance
Consumer Service Section
One South Station, 5th Floor
Boston, MA 02110-2208
617-521-7794
Fax: 617-521-7575
www.state.ma.us/doi

Michigan
Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation
611 West Ottawa St., 3rd Floor
PO Box 30220
Lansing, MI 48909
517-373-0220
Toll free: 1-877-999-6442
Fax: 517-335-4978
E-mail: ofir-info@michigan.gov
www.michigan.gov/ofir

Minnesota
Department of Commerce
Market Assurance Division
85 7th Place East
Suite 500
St. Paul, MN 55101
651-296-2488
Toll free: 1-800-657-3602 (MN)
TTY: 651-296-2860
Fax: 651-296-4328
E-mail: market.assurance@state.mn.us
www.commerce.state.mn.us

Mississippi
Department of Insurance
PO Box 79
Jackson, MS 39205
601-359-2453
Toll free: 1-800-562-2957 (MS)
Fax: 601-359-1077
E-mail: consumer@mid.state.ms.us
www.mid.state.ms.us

Missouri
Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial, and Professional Registration
PO Box 690
301 West High St., Room 530
Jefferson City, MO 65102-0690
573-751-4126
Toll free: 1-800-726-7390 (MO)
TTY: 573-526-4536
Fax: 573-526-4898
E-mail: askmdi@insurance.mo.gov
www.insurance.mo.gov

Montana
Montana State Auditor's Office
840 Helena Ave.
Helena, MT 59601
406-444-2040
Toll free: 1-800-332-6148 (MT)
TTY: 406-444-3246
Fax: 406-444-3497
E-mail: stateauditor@mt.gov
www.sao.mt.gov

Nebraska
Department of Insurance
Terminal Building
941 O St., Suite 400
Lincoln, NE 68508-3639
402-471-0888 (In Lincoln)
402-471-2201
Toll free: 1-877-564-7323 (NE)
TTY: 1-800-833-7351 (Toll free)
Fax: 402-471-6559
E-mail: consumer_affairs@nebraska.gov
www.doi.ne.gov

Nevada
Division of Insurance, State of Nevada
Department of Business & Industry
788 Fairview Drive
Suite 300
Carson City, NV 89701-5491
775-687-4270
Fax: 775-687-3937
www.doi.state.nv.us/

Division of Insurance
Department of Business & Industry
788 Fairview Drive, Suite 300
Carson City, NV 89701
775-687-4270
Fax: 775-687-3937
E-mail: insinfo@doi.state.nv.us
www.doi.state.nv.us/

New Hampshire
Department of Insurance
21 South Fruit St., Suite 14
Concord, NH 03301-2430
603-271-2261
Toll free: 1-800-852-3416 (NH)
TTY: 1-800-735-2964 (NH)
Fax: 603-271-1406
E-mail: requests@ins.nh.gov
www.nh.gov/insurance

New Jersey
Department of Banking and Insurance
20 West State St.
PO Box 325
Trenton, NJ 08625
609-292-5360
609-292-5064 (Public Affairs)
Fax: 609-292-5571
www.njdobi.org

New Mexico
Department of Insurance
PO Box 1269
Santa Fe, NM 87504-1269
505-827-4601
Toll free: 1-800-947-4722 (NM)
Fax: 505-827-4734
E-mail: John.Gaherty@state.nm.us
www.nmprc.state.nm.us

New York
Consumer Services Bureau
Insurance Department
One Commerce Plaza
Albany, NY 12257
518-474-6600
Toll free: 1-800-342-3736 (NY)
Fax: 518-474-6630
E-mail: consumers@ins.state.ny.us
www.ins.state.ny.us

Consumer Services Bureau
Insurance Department
65 Court St. #7
Buffalo, NY 14202
716-847-7618
Toll free: 1-800-342-3736 (NY)
Fax: 716-847-7925
E-mail: consumers@ins.state.ny.us
www.ins.state.ny.us

North Carolina
Department of Insurance
Dobbs Bldg., 430 North Salisbury St. (Zip: 27603)
1201 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1201
919-733-3058
919-807-6750 (Consumer Services) (outside of NC)
Toll free: 1-800-546-5664 (NC) (Consumer Services)
Fax: 919-733-0085
E-mail: consumer@ncdoi.net
www.ncdoi.com

North Dakota
Insurance Department
600 East Boulevard Ave.
5th Floor
Bismarck, ND 58505-0320
701-328-2440
Toll free: 1-800-247-0560 (ND)
TTY: 1-800-366-6888 (Toll free)
Fax: 701-328-4880
E-mail: insurance@nd.gov
www.nd.gov/ndins

Ohio
Office of Consumer Services
Department of Insurance
50 West Town Street, 3rd floor, Suite 300
Columbus, OH 43215
614-644-2673
Toll free: 1-800-686-1526 (Consumer Hotline)
Toll free: 1-800-686-1527 (Fraud Hotline)
Toll free: 1-800-686-1578 (Senior Hotline)
TTY: 614-644-3745
Fax: 614-644-3744
www.ohioinsurance.gov

Oklahoma
Insurance Department
2401 N. W. 23rd St., Suite 28
PO Box 53408
Oklahoma City, OK 73152-3408
405-521-2828
Toll free: 1-800-522-0071 (OK)
Fax: 405-521-6635
E-mail: feedback@insurance.state.ok.us
www.ok.gov/oid

Oregon
Insurance Division
350 Winter St., NE, Room 440-2
PO Box 14480 (Zip 97309-0405)
Salem, OR 97301-3883
503-947-7984
Toll free: 1-888-877-4894 (OR)
Fax: 503-378-4351
E-mail: dcbs.insmail@state.or.us
insurance.oregon.gov

Pennsylvania
Bureau of Consumer Service
Insurance Department
1209 Strawberry Square
Harrisburg, PA 17120
717-787-2317
Toll free: 1-877-881-6388
Fax: 717-787-8585
E-mail: ra-in-consumer@state.pa.us
www.insurance.state.pa.us

Puerto Rico
Office of the Commissioner of Insurance
Call Box 8330
Fernandez Juncos Station
Santurce, PR 00910-8330
787-722-8686
787-721-5848
Toll free: 1-888-722-8686
Fax: 787-722-4402
E-mail: mlatorre@ocs.gobierno.pr
www.ocs.gobierno.pr

Rhode Island
Insurance Division
Department of Business Regulation
1511 Pontiac Avenue
Cranston, RI 02920
401-462-9500
Fax: 401-462-9559
www.dbr.state.ri.us

South Carolina
Consumer Services
Department of Insurance
1201 Main Street, Suite 100 (Zip: 29201)
PO Box 100105
Columbia, SC 29202-3105
803-737-6180
Toll free: 1-800-768-3467 (SC)
Fax: 803-737-6231
E-mail: consumers@doi.sc.gov
www.doi.sc.gov

South Dakota
Division of Insurance
Department of Revenue and Regulation
445 East Capital Avenue
Pierre, SD 57501
605-773-3563
Fax: 605-773-5369
www.state.sd.us/drr

Tennessee
Department of Commerce and Insurance
500 James Robertson Pkwy.
5th Floor
Nashville, TN 37243-0565
615-741-4737
Toll free: 1-800-342-4029 (TN)
Fax: 615-532-4994
www.tn.gov/consumer

Texas
Department of Insurance
333 Guadalupe St.
PO Box 149104
Austin, TX 78714
512-463-6169
Toll free: 1-800-578-4677
Fax: 512-475-2005
E-mail: carol.cates@tdi.state.tx.us
www.tdi.state.tx.us

Utah
Department of Insurance
State Office Bldg., Room 3110
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-6901
801-538-3804
Toll free: 1-800-439-3805 (UT)
TTY: 801-538-3826
Fax: 801-538-3829
www.insurance.utah.gov

Vermont
Insurance Division
Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration
89 Main Street
Montpelier, VT 05620-3101
802-828-3301
Toll free: 1-800-964-1784 (VT)
Toll free: 1-800-631-7788 (VT - Health Insurance)
Fax: 802-828-3306
www.bishca.state.vt.us

Virgin Islands
Division of Banking and Insurance
No. 18 Kongens Gade
St. Thomas, VI 00802
340-774-7166
Fax: 340-774-9458
www.ltg.gov.vi

Virginia
Bureau of Insurance
State Corporation Commission
PO Box 1157
1300 East Main St. (Zip 23219 -- Only for special delivery and walk-ins)
Richmond, VA 23218
804-371-9967
Toll free: 1-800-552-7945 (VA)
TTY: 804-371-9206
E-mail: bureauofinsurance@scc.virginia.gov
www.scc.virginia.gov

Washington
Office of the Insurance Commissioner
Insurance 5000 Building
PO Box 40255
Olympia, WA 98504-0255
360-725-7000
Toll free: 1-800-562-6900 (WA)
TTY: 360-586-0241
Fax: 360-586-3109
E-mail: mikek@oic.wa.gov
www.insurance.wa.gov

West Virginia
Offices of the Insurance Commissioner
1124 Smith St.
PO Box 50540 (Zip 25305-0540)
Charleston, WV 25301
304-558-3354
Toll free: 1-888-879-9842 (WV)
Fax: 304-558-0412
E-mail: wvins@wvinsurance.gov
www.wvinsurance.gov

Wisconsin
Office of the Commissioner of Insurance
125 S Webster St.
PO Box 7873 (Zip 53707-7873)
Madison, WI 53702
608-266-3585
Toll free: 1-800-236-8517 (WI)
TTY: Dial 711 and ask for 608-266-3586
Fax: 608-264-8115
E-mail: information@wisconsin.gov
oci.wi.gov

Wyoming
Department of Insurance
106 E. Sixth Avenue
Cheyenne, WY 82002
307-777-7401
Toll free: 1-800-438-5768 (WY)
Fax: 307-777-5895
E-mail: wyinsdep@state.wy.us
insurance.state.wy.us/

Resource: List of Best Insurance Companies

Best Insurance Companies in America:

Company Phone # Address
1. Allstate Property and Casualty www.allstate.com
2. American Fire & Casualty www.ocas.com
3. AMEX
4. Amica Mutual 1-800-242-6422 www.amica.com
5. Atlantic Mutual 1-800-444-6161 www.atlanticmutual.com
6. Bristol West Casualty 1-888-888-0080 www.BristolWest.com
7. California Casualty Indemnity Exchange 1-800-346-6840 www.calcas.com
8. Cincinnati www.cinfin.com
9. Cincinnati Casualty
10. Cincinnati Equitable 1-800-334-4615 www.cincinnatiequitable.com
11. Cincinnati Indemnity www.cinfin.com
12. Deerbrook
13. Donegal Mutual 1-800-321-1117 www.donegalgroup.com
14. Erie 1-800-458-0811 www.erieinsurance.com
15. Farmers 1-800-777-9005 www.farmers.com
16. Federal 1-866-324-8222 www.chubb.com
17. Founders www.foundersinsurance.com
18. Frankenmuth Mutual 1-989-652-6121 www.fmins.com
19. GEICO General 1-800-841-3000 www.geico.com
20. Government Employees 1-800-841-3000 www.geico.com
21. Grange www.grangeinsurance.com
22. Grange Indemnity www.grangeinsurance.com
23. Great Northern 1-866-324-8222 www.chubb.com
24. GuideOne America 1-877-448-4331 www.guideone.com
25. GuideOne Elite 1-877-448-4331 www.guideone.com
26. GuideOne Mutual 1-877-448-4331 www.guideone.com
27. Hartford Accident and Indemnity
28. Hastings Mutual www.hastingsmutual.com
29. Horace Mann 1-800-999-1030 www.horacemann.com
30. Horace Mann Property Casualty 1-800-999-1030 www.horacemann.com
31. Kansas City Fire & Marine 1-800-262-9262 www.encompassins.com
32. Lightning Rod Mutual www.wrg-ins.com
33. Mid-American Fire & Casualty www.libertyram.com
34. Mid-Century 1-800-777-9005 www.farmers.com
35. Montgomery Ward 1-800-523-1700 www.geautoinsurance.com
36. National Mutual 1-800-552-5181
37. Northwestern Pacific Indemnity 1-866-324-8222 www.chubb.com
38. Ohio Casualty www.ocas.com
39. PRUGEN
40. Royal www.royalsunalliance.com
41. Sagamore www.sagamoreinsurance.com
42. Selective of the Southeast www.selective.com
43. State Auto 1-614-464-4943 www.stateauto.com
44. Teachers 1-800-999-1030 www.horacemann.com
45. Travelers Casualty www.travelers.com
46. Travelers Commercial www.travelers.com
47. Travelers P&C www.travelers.com
48. United Ohio 1-800-686-3011 www.omig.com
49. USAA Casualty 1-800-531-8111 www.usaa.com
50. Vigilant 1-866-324-8222 www.chubb.com
51. Wayne Mutual 1-330-345-8100 www.waynemutual.com
52. West American www.ocas.com
53. Western Reserve Mutual Casualty 1-800-362-0426 www.wrg-ins.com