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Ohio Insurance Department Saves Consumers Nearly $7M
"COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Last year, the Ohio Department of Insurance saved consumers nearly $7 million in insurance claims and helped them adjust claims, prevent fraud, find an insurance agent and get insurance coverage, according to Ann Womer Benjamin, director. "We've helped tens of thousands of Ohioans with insurance claims and disputes and helped just as many find an agent or tackle insurance fraud," she said. "The Department's Consumer Services is the state's largest consumer protection unit." In 2004, Consumer Services responded to more than 115,000 insurance inquiries to its hotline, through e-mail and through one-on-one counseling, Womer Benjamin said. Most questions concerned life, health and property and casualty insurance. This week marks the department's Get Smart About Insurance Week, an outreach campaign to help educate Ohioans about the importance of "getting smart and getting covered" with free help from the Consumer Services Division. The week-long nationwide campaign is led by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.The Department regulates and licenses approximately 1,740 insurance companies, nearly 180,000 agents, and more than 13,000 insurance agencies, and monitors the financial solvency of the insurance industry in Ohio, Womer Benjamin noted. Consumer Services also oversees the Ohio Senior Health Insurance Information Program, which has helped educate and enroll many Ohio seniors in the Medicare Prescription Drug Card program. The program has a statewide network of more than 950 volunteers and conducts educational outreach, speaking engagements and one-on-one counseling. Consumer Services also offers free Ohio Shopper's Guides, a series of booklets that offer consumers another resource for information on most insurance products. Included in the brochures are tips on how to shop for insurance, examples of rates offered in Ohio and explanations of how typical policies work. All this information and more is available at the department's web site.Visit the Ohio Department of Insurance: www.ohioinsurance.gov"