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North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Issues Warning On Steerage

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North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Warns On Steering Hurricane Damage Repair – Big No No

graphic map north carolina insurance commissioner
Wikipedia – Alexrk2

This morning I received a general memo from current North Carolina Insurance Commissioner  – Mike Causey.    The first thing I noticed was that it was not directly addressed to me – whew!

Unlike Workers Compensation directed care for injured employees in most states, an adjuster just cannot make any recommendations.   My question always was, what if the home or property owner asks for names of a few companies – but the answer is still NO.

Whenever I do property damage claims, yes, I do those – I recommend the insured contact their agent or the Department of Insurance.   That always deflected a question that can really cause problems for an adjuster or damage repair company.

Most states have these laws in place.   Many property and casualty adjusters read our newsletter and articles.  I forwarded the memo to a few friends.  I doubt they were ever steering clients to certain repair companies.

To:          All Insurance Companies and Other Entities Licensed Under Chapter 58 of the North Carolina General Statutes

From:      Mike Causey,  North Carolina Insurance Commissioner

Date:        October 4, 2018

RE:        Anti-Steering Laws

Tree Fall on North Carolina Insurance Commissioner House Damage
Wikimedia Commons – Win Henderson

I would like to thank all companies who have responded quickly and with compassion to the disaster in North Carolina resulting from Hurricane Florence. Several of the companies have also madea special effort to participate in the Insurance Camps that the Department has organized over the past three weeks. The Department recognizes that juggling schedules due to last minute site selections has been difficult, but, the effort was very much appreciated. It truly made a difference to those devastated by the storms to see the industry out in force trying to help.

On another note, the Department has also received some reports that some outside adjusters are insisting that consumers use the services of certain firms for damage repair. I would like to remind the companies that North Carolina has very strict anti-steering laws that prohibit companies, agents, adjusters, or appraisers from requiring consumers to utilize a particular service or source for repair of autos or property damage. I refer you to N.C. Gen. Stat. §§58-3-180 and 58-33-76, as well as other statutes and regulations, for review ofour anti-steering laws. Please ensure that any out-of-state adjusters or any in-state adjusters you use to adjust claims in North Carolina are familiar with and adhere to our anti-steering laws.

 

Thank you again for all that you do for our state.

 

Respectfully,

 

©J&L Risk Management Inc Copyright Notice

 

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James J Moore - Workers Comp Expert

Raleigh, NC, United States

About The Author...

James founded a Workers’ Compensation consulting firm, J&L Risk Management Consultants, Inc. in 1996. J&L’s mission is to reduce our clients’ Workers Compensation premiums by using time-tested techniques. J&L’s claims, premium, reserve and Experience Mod reviews have saved employers over $9.8 million in earned premiums over the last three years. J&L has saved numerous companies from bankruptcy proceedings as a result of insurance overpayments.

James has over 27 years of experience in insurance claims, audit, and underwriting, specializing in Workers’ Compensation. He has supervised, and managed the administration of Workers’ Compensation claims, and underwriting in over 45 states. His professional experience includes being the Director of Risk Management for the North Carolina School Boards Association. He created a very successful Workers’ Compensation Injury Rehabilitation Unit for school personnel.

James’s educational background, which centered on computer technology, culminated in earning a Masters of Business Administration (MBA); an Associate in Claims designation (AIC); and an Associate in Risk Management designation (ARM). He is a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) and a licensed financial advisor. The NC Department of Insurance has certified him as an insurance instructor. He also possesses a Bachelors’ Degree in Actuarial Science.

LexisNexis has twice recognized his blog as one of the Top 25 Blogs on Workers’ Compensation. J&L has been listed in AM Best’s Preferred Providers Directory for Insurance Experts – Workers Compensation for over eight years. He recently won the prestigious Baucom Shine Lifetime Achievement Award for his volunteer contributions to the area of risk management and safety. James was recently named as an instructor for the prestigious Insurance Academy.

James is on the Board of Directors and Treasurer of the North Carolina Mid-State Safety Council. He has published two manuals on Workers’ Compensation and three different claims processing manuals. He has also written and has been quoted in numerous articles on reducing Workers’ Compensation costs for public and private employers. James publishes a weekly newsletter with 7,000 readers.

He currently possess press credentials and am invited to various national Workers Compensation conferences as a reporter.

James’s articles or interviews on Workers’ Compensation have appeared in the following publications or websites:

  • Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS)
  • Entrepreneur Magazine
  • Bloomberg Business News
  • WorkCompCentral.com
  • Claims Magazine
  • Risk & Insurance Magazine
  • Insurance Journal
  • Workers Compensation.com
  • LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites
  • Various trade publications

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