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Department of Insurance outlines consumer protection roles and mitigation grants program
Summary
Director Michael Wise summarized the Department of Insurance’s oversight responsibilities — solvency regulation, rate and product review for private insurers, consumer services, fraud enforcement and a mitigation grant program — and offered outreach to the committee and public.
Michael Wise, director of the South Carolina Department of Insurance, briefed the committee on the agency’s core responsibilities: ensuring the financial solvency of insurers doing business in the state, reviewing products and rates for regulated lines, licensing and oversight of pharmacy-benefit managers, consumer education and a fraud unit that operates in coordination with SLED and prosecutors.
Wise described the department’s consumer-services role — taking complaints and providing information to help consumers choose coverage — and noted a mitigation grant program (South Carolina Safe Home Program) that funds property mitigation measures intended to reduce future insurance costs by improving resilience; Wise said every dollar spent on mitigation could save up to six dollars in future losses.
Representative Bill Hixon (a long-standing insurance industry participant) praised Wise’s responsiveness to constituents and his national engagement; Wise confirmed the department’s regular outreach and invited the committee to contact the agency for joint events and constituent-service referrals.
No formal actions were taken; the agency offered to provide more information on specific rate reviews, PBM regulation and the mitigation grant program to committee staff on request.
