Consumers often have no good way to compare the contract terms, company performance levels or even premiums for many types of insurance products, Daniel Schwarcz testified today on Capitol Hill.
Schwarz, a faculty member at the University of Minnesota law school, appeared at a hearing on insurance regulation organized by the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee's securities subcommittee.
Schwarz blasted the current state of insurance information disclosure.
State insurance regulators have made some effort to set annuity disclosure standards, but, in most cases, "consumers neither receive nor can access reliable measures of how often or how quickly carriers pay claims," Schwarz said, according to a written version of his remarks. "Consumers have virtually no means of comparing prices or costs for the cash value life insurance products that different companies offer."
Insurers rarely post policies or detailed descriptions of contract terms online, Schwarz added.
