The Life Insurance Consumer Advocacy Center (LICAC) has taken legal action against the California Department of Insurance (CDI) over claims that the department is not sharing consumer complaint data. This lawsuit, filed on March 21, 2025, alleges that the CDI has been unresponsive to multiple requests for this information.
LICAC argues that the CDI initially claimed the requested data did not exist. However, the group later found that the same data was included in a report from the insurance commissioner in 2023. After pointing this out, the CDI cited a public records exemption but did not provide a clear reason when LICAC sought clarification.
Brian Brosnahan, the executive director of LICAC, stated that they resorted to legal action after months of trying to engage with the CDI. The organization believes that access to this complaint data is crucial for their efforts in policy reform and consumer protection. They aim to use the data to establish benchmarks for tracking complaints over time and to assess the impact of recent laws, such as Senate Bill 263.
The CDI has faced criticism regarding how transparent it is with its consumer complaint data. While the department highlights its Consumer Complaint Center, which allows consumers to file and track complaints, specific numbers for insurance complaints in 2024 are not publicly available. The latest data accessible to the public dates back to 2021, when the CDI reported receiving over 23,000 consumer assistance calls related to healthcare and reviewed around 3,600 complaint cases.
Senate Bill 263, enacted in 2024, changed the disclosure standards for agents selling annuities. LICAC has opposed this law, arguing that it permits agents to misrepresent their interests as being in the best interest of consumers when their practices may not align with that claim. Brosnahan voiced concerns that the law allows agents to present themselves as free from conflicts of interest, which may not be true.
As the lawsuit unfolds, the outcome could have significant implications for transparency in the insurance industry and how consumer complaints are handled in California.