(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 4-8, there shall be a Division of Consumer Affairs within the Insurance Department, which division shall act on the Insurance Commissioner's behalf and at his direction in order to carry out his responsibilities under this title with respect to such matters. The division shall receive and review complaints from residents of this state concerning their insurance problems, including claims disputes, and serve as a mediator in such disputes in order to assist the commissioner in determining whether statutory requirements and contractual obligations within the commissioner's jurisdiction have been fulfilled. There shall be a director of said division, who shall be provided with sufficient staff. The division shall serve to coordinate all appropriate facilities in the department in addressing such complaints, and conduct any outreach programs deemed necessary to properly inform and educate the public on insurance matters. The director shall submit quarterly reports to the commissioner, which shall state the number of complaints received by the division in such calendar quarter, the Connecticut premium volume of the appropriate line of each insurance company against which a complaint has been filed, the types of complaints received, and the number of such complaints which have been resolved. Such reports shall be published every six months and copies shall be made available to any interested resident of this state upon request. The commissioner shall report, in accordance with section 11-4a, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to insurance on or before January fifteenth annually, concerning the findings of such reports and suggestions for legislative initiatives to address recurring problems.

(b) (1) The Division of Consumer Affairs shall provide an independent arbitration procedure for the settlement of disputes between claimants and insurance companies concerning automobile physical damage and automobile property damage liability claims in which liability and coverage are not in dispute. Such procedure shall apply only to disputes involving private passenger motor vehicles as defined in subsection (e) of section 38a-363. Any company licensed to write private passenger automobile insurance, including collision, comprehensive and theft, in this state shall participate in the arbitration procedure. The commissioner shall appoint an administrator for such procedure. Only those disputes in which attempts at mediation by the Division of Consumer Affairs have failed shall be accepted as arbitrable. The referral of the complaint to arbitration shall be made by the Insurance Department examiner who investigated the complaint. Each party to the dispute shall pay a filing fee of twenty dollars. The insurance company shall pay the claimant the undisputed amount of the claim upon written notification from the department that the complaint has been referred to arbitration. Such payment shall not affect any right of the claimant to pursue the disputed amount of the claim.

(2) The commissioner shall prepare a list of at least ten persons, who have not been employed by the department or an insurance company during the preceding twelve months, to serve as arbitrators in the settlement of such disputes. The arbitrators shall be members of any dispute resolution organization approved by the commissioner. One arbitrator shall be appointed to hear and decide each complaint. Appointment shall be based solely on the order of the list. If an arbitrator is unable to serve on a given day, or if either party objects to the arbitrator, then the next arbitrator on the list shall be selected. The department shall schedule arbitration hearings as often, and in such locations, as it deems necessary. Parties to the dispute shall be provided written notice of the hearing at least ten days prior to the hearing date. The commissioner may issue subpoenas on behalf of the arbitrator to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents, papers and records relevant to the dispute. Decisions shall be made on the basis of the evidence presented at the arbitration hearing. Where the arbitrator believes that technical expertise is necessary to decide a case, such arbitrator may consult with an independent expert recommended by the commissioner. The arbitrator and any independent technical expert shall be paid by the department on a per dispute basis as established by the commissioner. The arbitrator, as expeditiously as possible but not later than fifteen days after the arbitration hearing, shall render a written decision based on the information gathered and disclose the findings and the reasons to the parties involved. The arbitrator shall award filing fees to the prevailing party. If the decision favors the claimant, the decision shall provide specific and appropriate remedies including interest at the rate of fifteen per cent per year on the arbitration award concerning the disputed amount of the claim, retroactive to the date of payment for the undisputed amount of the claim. The decision may include costs for loss of use and storage of the motor vehicle and shall specify a date for performance and completion of all awarded remedies. Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes or any regulation, the Insurance Department shall not amend, reverse, rescind, or revoke any decision or action of any arbitrator. The department shall contact the claimant not later than ten business days after the date for performance, to determine whether performance has occurred. Either party may make application to the superior court for the judicial district in which one of the parties resides or, when the court is not in session, any judge thereof for an order confirming, vacating, modifying or correcting any award, in accordance with the provisions of sections 52-417, 52-418, 52-419 and 52-420. If it is determined by the court that either party's position after review has been improved by at least ten per cent over that party's position after arbitration, the court may grant to that party its costs and reasonable attorney's fees. No evidence, testimony, findings, or decision from the department arbitration procedure shall be admissible in any civil proceeding, except judicial review of the arbitrator's decision as contemplated by this subsection.

(3) The department shall maintain records of each dispute, including names of parties to the arbitration, the decision of the arbitrator, compliance, the appeal, if any, and the decision of the court. The department shall annually compile such statistics and send a copy to the committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to insurance. The report shall be considered a public document.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 4-8, there shall be a Division of Rate Review within the Insurance Department, which division shall act on the commissioner's behalf and at the commissioner's direction in order to carry out the commissioner's responsibilities under this title with respect to such matters. Subject to the provisions of sections 38a-663 to 38a-696, inclusive, the division shall assist the commissioner in reviewing rates and supplementary rate information filed with the department for compliance with statutory requirements and standards. The division's staff shall include rating examiners with sufficient actuarial expertise. Upon the request of the commissioner, the division shall review rates and supplementary rate information, and any suspected violation of the statutory requirements and standards of sections 38a-663 to 38a-696, inclusive, found pursuant to such review shall be referred to the commissioner for appropriate action. The division may assist the commissioner in formalizing the commissioner's findings regarding such actions. The commissioner shall report, in accordance with section 11-4a, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to insurance on or before January fifteenth annually, concerning (1) the number and type of reviews conducted by the division in the prior calendar year, and (2) the percentage of increase or decrease in rates reviewed by the division during the preceding calendar year, by line and subline of insurance.

(d) The directors and staff of both the Division of Consumer Affairs and the Division of Rate Review shall be appointed by the commissioner under the provisions of chapter 67.

(P.A. 87-515, S. 1, 4; P.A. 88-326, S. 9, 11; P.A. 96-227, S. 1; P.A. 99-145, S. 2, 23; P.A. 01-174, S. 1; P.A. 09-74, S. 1, 2; P.A. 10-5, S. 1; 10-7, S. 8; P.A. 13-134, S. 2.)

History: P.A. 88-326 required the Connecticut premium volume of the line of each insurance company against which a complaint has been filed to be stated in quarterly reports to the commissioner, required reports from the director to be published and made available every six months, and inserted a new Subsec. (b) establishing an arbitration procedure for automobile damage claims, relettering existing Subsecs. as necessary, effective July 1, 1989; Sec. 38-4b transferred to Sec. 38a-9 in 1991; (Revisor's note: In 1997 a reference in Subsec. (b)(2) to “Department of Insurance” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Insurance Department” for consistency with customary statutory usage); P.A. 96-227 amended Subsec. (c) to delete the requirement that the division director be a member of the American Academy of Actuaries; P.A. 99-145 amended Subsec. (b) to substitute “subsection (e) of section 38a-363” for “subsection (g) of section 38a-363”, effective June 8, 1999; P.A. 01-174 deleted Subsec. (c)(3) re reports to the General Assembly concerning filed rates found to be a suspected violation of statutory requirements and standards, substituted references to Sec. 38a-696 for references to Sec. 38a-697, and made technical changes for purposes of gender neutrality; P.A. 09-74 made technical changes in Subsecs. (a) and (c), effective May 27, 2009; P.A. 10-5 made technical changes in Subsec. (b)(2), effective May 5, 2010; P.A. 10-7 amended Subsec. (b)(2) to make a technical change, increase arbitration award interest rate from 10% to 15% and specify that such interest rate is per year, effective January 1, 2011; P.A. 13-134 replaced “consumer” with “claimant” in Subsec. (b)(1) and (2).