Insurance Adjuster Act

California Senate Bill 240

"Existing law creates the Department of Insurance, headed by the Insurance Commissioner, and prescribes the department’s powers and duties. Existing law, the Insurance Adjuster Act, sets forth various requirements with respect to operation as an insurance adjuster in this state and prohibits a person from engaging in a business regulated by the act, or acting or assuming to act as, or representing themselves to be, an insurance adjuster unless the person is licensed under the act. Existing law also prohibits a person from falsely representing that the person is employed by a licensee. Existing law exempts a person from the requirements of the Insurance Adjuster Act if the person is employed exclusively and regularly by one employer, as specified, with which the person has an employer-employee relationship. If the commissioner declares an emergency situation, existing law authorizes a nonlicensed insurance adjuster to adjust claims if certain requirements are met, including that the nonlicensed insurance adjuster registers with the commissioner via a written letter naming the nonlicensed adjuster, identifying adjuster licenses held in other jurisdictions, and stating when the claims adjusting activity began in the emergency situation. Existing law requires an insurer to provide an insured with a written status report if the insurer assigns a 3rd or subsequent adjuster to be primarily responsible for a claim within a 6-month period.

This bill would require an insurer to establish a single point of contact for the insured and provide the insured with one or more direct means of communication with the single point of contact if, within a 6-month period, the insurer assigns a 3rd or subsequent adjuster to be primarily responsible for a claim. The bill would require the single point of contact to remain assigned to the insured’s claim until the insurer determines that the claim is closed."

Latest Status: 2019-05-20 Senate Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 38. Noes 0.) Ordered to the Assembly.

The above information is from the text version of the bill.  Here is a link to the bill text; 

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB240