Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Thomas Sullivan resigned this week after many groups — including the Auto Body Association of Connecticut (ABAC) — called for him to be fired.
In a letter sent last week to Gov. M. Jodi Rell, ABAC said that Sullivan failed to enforce insurance laws in the state and didn’t scrutinize alleged insurer misconduct in the settling of collision claims.
"Commissioner Sullivan has gone out of his way to insulate insurers from meaningful oversight and legal enforcement," the letter said.
Several consumer groups targeted Sullivan because they believe he wrongly approved insurer requests for excessive health insurance rate increases, including as much as 47 percent for some plans offered by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
ABAC noted in its letter that its requests to the Insurance Department were often responded to with "sarcasm and apathy." The group says that Sullivan’s leadership forced collision repairers to "take matters into their own hands" by filing lawsuits, launching consumer outreach programs and working for legislative reform: "In other words, we were forced to do the Commissioner’s job," the letter stated.
Connecticut repairers have, however, had a strong ally in Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who has called for a federal investigation of insurer steering.
Sullivan announced his resignation Monday in a letter to the governor. He plans to take a position with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, according to the Hartford Courant.
More information:
Read ABAC’s letter
