Pennsylvania Insurance Department Secures Dedicated Funding

Under Governor Tom Corbett’s recently signed 2013-14 budget and newly enacted legislation, Act 46, the Pennsylvania Insurance Department now has access to a dedicated funding source. This dedicated budget fund will be used by the department to pay all costs and expenses associated with its general operations.

“This offers the long-term financial stability and flexibility we need to continue as a world-class insurance regulator for a world-class insurance marketplace,” Insurance Commissioner Michael Consedine said. “Act 46 is a historic change for the department and helps us ensure that Pennsylvania keeps pace with an ever-increasing global marketplace.”

Revenue will now come from a portion of industry fees and assessments already being collected by the department.

Pennsylvania is the fifth-largest insurance marketplace in the country and the 14th-largest globally. The Insurance Department oversees the operations of 1,700 insurance companies offering more than $92 billion of annual premiums in all lines of insurance products.

America’s property/casualty insurance business originated in Philadelphia, and now Pennsylvania is home to regional insurance carriers, smaller mutual companies, as well as the regulator of some of the largest, global insurance companies.

Responsibilities of the Insurance Department are:

• licensing insurance companies and agents that do business in the state,
• examining insurance companies regarding their financial solvency and market conduct,
• reviewing insurance rates and coverages, and
• ensuring policyholders, claimants and insurers are treated fairly and equitably.

Estimates indicate that more than 121,000 people work in the insurance industry in Pennsylvania.

“Having a financially stable, professional insurance regulator is one of the primary factors in bringing insurance jobs to a state and with dedicated funding we’re making an even stronger case for insurance sector job-growth in Pennsylvania,” Consedine said. “With an insurance marketplace that is highly diverse, stable and growing, we are focused on providing a regulatory environment for the insurance business that promotes a competitive marketplace, which serves to benefit our consumers.”

Source: Pennsylvania Insurance Department