State consumers to get access to insurance records

New California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi plans to issue an order this month that will give consumers trying to buy homeowners policies the right to review their credit scores and past insurance claims records. They also would be able to correct errors in insurance company files.

Garamendi said Tuesday that he will promulgate the orders as part of a Homeowners Bill of Rights designed to ease the problem of obtaining and renewing homeowners insurance in California. Insurance companies have been cutting back on new policies and tightening criteria for renewals because of rising losses on claims. For example, State Farm, the largest insurer in the state, has placed a moratorium on issuing new homeowners policies.

Currently, insurers can use an applicant’s claims as well as those of prior owners of a property going back five years to justify a refusal to sell a policy. The companies use such computerized systems as CLUE, the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, to track claims.