By Thomas E. Hampton

The year 2006 has been a great one for DISB. We can highlight any of our five bureaus and three offices and point to many accomplishments, initiatives and improvements. These propel the agency toward greater accountability and openness in delivering our services. I would like to highlight just a few of the major accomplishments and initiatives, which reflect our agency’s priorities and mission. 

Making Insurance More Affordable and Accessible

As the District’s insurance regulator, we started the year with a new taxicab rulemaking that changed the duration of taxicab insurance policies from two weeks to six months to bring the District’s taxicab insurance more in line with the rest of the country and more competitive. The result was lower insurance premium rates and policies that are more flexible for the more than 6,000 taxicab drivers in the District.

As a member of the DC Department of Health’s HRSA State Planning Grant Health Care Coverage Advisory Panel, DISB conducted meetings with health insurance carriers in the District to find alternative solutions to the approximately 80,000 District residents without health insurance. The agency sought to assist those who did not receive help from the Healthy DC Act, which provides health insurance coverage with a subsidized premium to residents at 400 percent or below the federal poverty level.

Recently, DISB received accreditation from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), an association of state insurance regulators, of which DISB is a member. 

Protecting and Educating Investors

DISB was involved in a multi-state settlement between state securities regulators and Wachovia Capital Markets LLC of Charlotte, N.C. The District of Columbia received $246,000, including a $30,000 credit from Investor Education upon final acceptance of the terms of the agreement.  The money received in the form of penalties will be paid into the District’s General Fund. 

This year, DISB launched two financial-education campaigns in partnership with the Investor Protection Trust—Investor Education @ your library, which uses local pubic libraries’ resource to teach investment strategies and the Campaign for Wise and Safe Investing, which aims to protect the nest eggs for investors over 50 years of age from financial scams and traps. 

Expanding Banking Services to All Communities

On the banking front, DISB was instrumental in expanding District-chartered banking in 2006.  The agency worked with its two District-chartered banks, WashingtonFirst Bank and Bank of Georgetown, to consider expanding into underserved communities through programs that encourage the deposits of District government funds into local banks. DISB also assisted WashingtonFirst to structure its acquisition and merger with First Liberty National Bank, Washington, DC.  The newly merged WashingtonFirst now operates a main office and two branches in the District, two branches in Virginia and three branches in Maryland. 

DISB has adopted a set of regulatory guidelines covering how District-licensed mortgage lenders and brokers market nontraditional mortgages. 

Enhancing Partnership and Results in Enforcement and Investigation

In 2006, DISB joined three consumer protection task forces with the Federal Bureau of Investigation—the Drug Diversion Task Force, the Securities Scams Task Force and the Task Force Against Illegal Money Transmitters. Greater partnership has led to greater results. This year, we closed on several significant criminal cases ranging from securities to insurance and mortgage fraud, including the first medical dental provider fraud case in the District. Our refocus on agent broker enforcement actions has also paid off.  In 2006, DISB received 35 referrals compared to three in 2005. 

Continuing the Momentum of Captive Insurance

The District of Columbia continues to enjoy the reputation as one of nation’s leading jurisdictions for captive insurance companies—insurance companies that insure the risks of the corporation or association that own them. Since 2001, when DISB was given the authority to regulate captives by statute, our Risk Finance Bureau has licensed 68 companies, including the ones owned by the American Society of Association Executives, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and General Motors.  

Increasing DISB’s Visibility and Consumer Outreach

DISB’s public information and outreach for 2006 has been unprecedented for both businesses and consumers. 

The agency received extensive coverage in both print and broadcast media. Trade journals such as the National Underwriter, Insurance Journal and Insurance & Financial Advisor Monthly have been covering extensively on a range of regulatory and consumer outreach-related activities at DISB. Our consumer tips and alerts have been featured in the area’s leading newspapers such as The Washington Post, The Washington Times and The Washington Examiner. The agency also has been able to rely on various community newspapers including The Washington Afro American, The Washington Hispanic, Senior Beacon, The Capital Community News and Asian Fortune, and many web-based media. In addition, we have had live interviews on several television and radio stations including WUSA TV9, News Channel 8, Radio One, WAMU, WPFW and Telemundo 64, etc., on topics covering the gamut of discount health cards, investor education, financial fraud, Medicare Part D, insurance basics and insurance regulation. 

Besides broad-based media exposure, DISB adopted and localized three national financial education campaigns: Insure U, Investor Education @ your library and the Campaign for Wise & Safe Investing, and launched two theme campaigns—July’s Fraud Awareness Week and September’s Life Insurance Awareness Month. Combining publications such as A Consumer’s Guide to Frequently Asked Questions and its external newsletter, The Capital Connection, community presentations, and public events such as its consumer information fair and the Insurance Bureau Open House, DISB is reintroducing and repositioning itself as a resource and a consumer protector.

Although DISB has accomplished much in the last 12 months, we will not rest on our laurels.  Among our priorities will be a branding campaign to make the public even more aware of DISB, and what we have to offer. We look forward to an exciting 2007 to serve the residents and businesses of the District of Columbia.

Commissioner Thomas E. Hampton is the head of the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking.