California’s Senate Bill 2401 is making its way through the legislature and will hopefully bring some important changes to the way insurance companies train their out of state adjusters who handle California based policyholder’s claims. The bill, also known as the Insurance Adjuster Act of 2019, was created by Senator Bill Dodd to eliminate confusion and delays caused by out-of-state or unaware adjusters.
Of significance, the bill will require the California Department of Insurance (DOI) to produce an annual notice describing the most significant California laws pertaining to property insurance policies (including those regarding declared states of emergency) and require the out-of-state adjusters to submit a signed certification, under penalty of perjury, that they have read the most recent notices issued by the DOI, as well as a handbook for adjusting claims prepared by the DOI.
Another part of the act requires that carriers assign a primary point of contact for insureds during a state of emergency. This law was drafted with the hope that it would limit confusion created when carriers assign multiple adjusters to a single claim. For example, insurers often have a desk adjuster, independent field adjusters, contents adjusters and even ALE adjusters working on a single claim. The new bill will require the DOI to provide training standards for these adjusters and require the carrier provide a single point of contact. Insureds simply do not know which person to contact. The new law aims to streamline these communications with the insurer through one person.
These guidelines will hopefully increase the accountability insurers have when they assigned out-of-state adjusters to deal with increased claims activities following catastrophic disasters. If you feel your carrier is not abiding by their obligations to you, contact a Merlin Law Group attorney for a consultation.
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1 https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB240
