West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner 2009 Annual ...

Consumer Service Division
The Consumer Service Division is responsible for the review of facts surrounding complaints received
against insurance companies, adjusters and agents. It is the division’s aim to evaluate the facts of each
complaint received to ensure compliance with the West Virginia Insurance Laws and contract in
question. We try to facilitate a fair resolution to each complaint and a better understanding among the
parties of their rights and responsibilities.
The division also educates the public regarding insurance topics through presentations at schools and
civic organizations. The division staff identifies problem areas and trends by collecting information
gathered from complaints. It performs research and surveys about areas that need special attention.
The division is thus uniquely able to inform the Insurance Commissioner, lawmakers and other public
policymakers about the impact decisions may have on insurance consumers.
ORGANIZATION AND ACTIVITIES
The Consumer Service Division comprises nine Insurance Complaint Specialists, three Insurance
Complaint Specialist Supervisors who serve as liaison personnel between the insurance industry and
insured citizens, four Clerical Staff, and a Director.
We receive consumer inquiries by mail, telephone, and walk-in visits from the public. A complaint
file is set up for each written inquiry. A total of 2,322 written inquires were received by the division in
2009. In addition, we received 142 walk-in clients and 31,532 telephone calls of which the clerical
staff handled 14,545. On average, the division handles one hundred thirty five consumer inquiries per
day. In 2009, complaint files were concluded in an average of 33 days.
The Consumer Service Division handled 287 third party liability complaints during 2009, 149 were not
resolved during the cure period resulting in those files being referred to our Legal Division for a
determination of merit.
Our division participated in the Insurance Commissioner’s Public Outreach Initiative by attending 13
fairs, festivals, presentations and other events reaching more than 443,045 consumers.
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