Connecticut Insurance Department launches newsletter

With Legislature-enacted roots dating to 1865, the Connecticut Insurance Department is marking 150 years of service with a leap into the future.

Last month, the department launched its new monthly online newsletter directed toward consumers, called “Insurance Matters.” Instant e-alerts also are now available.

The department envisioned typical queries the newsletter will address as:

• How long does my health insurer have to pay my claims?
• Does my homeowner”™s insurance cover damage from the ice dams this winter?
• Am I eligible for discounts on my auto insurance premium?

The newsletter is “designed to help inform and educate Connecticut consumers about all things insurance.”

“Each new issue will feature timely topics and tips,” said department Commissioner Katharine L. Wade in a statement. “We know having the proper coverage for your property and your family and understanding that coverage is very important. The ”˜Insurance Matters”™ newsletter is one more resource the department offers as part of our mission of consumer protection, outreach and education.”

The monthly newsletter also promises a look at the department”™s century-and-a-half history via what it termed a “dip into the vault this year as the department marks the 150th year of insurance regulation in Connecticut.” The General Assembly created the Office of the Insurance Commissioner, the forerunner to the department, in 1865.

The department said, on average, its dealings with the insurance industry bring $100 million annually to state coffers in fees, premium taxes, fines and other revenue sources. The money”™s uses include childhood immunization and other state programs. It also regulates the insurance industry in the state and in that role it said it annually recovers an average $4 million in refunds to consumers.

“Insurance Matters” will be posted on the department”™s website. Consumers can also subscribe by signing up for department e-alerts.