Committee hears bill to let insurance commissioner order restitution, expand per-violation fines

Substitute Senate Bill 5331, which would give the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) authority to order restitution to harmed consumers and change how civil fines are assessed against insurers, was the subject of an extended public hearing before the Consumer Protection & Business Committee on March 19.

The bill’s sponsor, State Senator Adrian Cortez, introduced the measure as a consumer-protection tool. "Bottom line, this is a consumer protection bill," Senator Cortez told the committee, asking members to move the bill forward.

Staff described the bill in detail. Peter Clodfelter, staff to the committee, summarized that the measure "adds authorization for the office of the insurance commissioner to order the payment of restitution after a hearing or with a person's consent if the insurance commissioner has cause to believe that a person[ is] violating or about to violate the insurance code or a regulation or order of the commissioner." The bill also narrows restitution to "only demonstrated economic damages due to another person, excluding a provider," and defines several timing rules for when an obligation "arises" for…