New Health Insurance Web Portal to Launch in November
The Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) is collaborating with the Department of Health (DOH) and Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) to develop a one-stop Internet site containing health insurance information for District residents. OCTO will maintain the new site which will be hosted at dc.gov's Health Center, and linked to both DISB's and DOH’s websites. The proposed site will include information on private and public health programs and serve as a comprehensive guide for consumers, employers, researchers and lawmakers seeking to either shop for or gain an understanding of the health insurance coverage options and programs in the District. The first phase of development is scheduled for completion by the end of October 2007 to coincide with DISB’s November launch of the District’s first Health Insurance Awareness Month.

DISB Hires a Consumer Advocate
DISB recently hired a new consumer advocate in the Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Administration. Idriys J. Abdullah will be responsible for overseeing consumer protection activities and strategies to ensure that all areas of the agency are working in concert to identify and address consumer concerns and issues. Abdullah will provide proposals for improving consumer protection efforts on an ongoing basis. He joined DISB’s staff with more than 25 years’ experience in housing and community development and outreach in the private, governmental and nonprofit sectors. In his previous position, he was vice president of Community Affairs for SunTrust Bank in Washington, DC. Abdullah has extensive professional credentials in financial services. A native Washingtonian, Abdullah currently lives in the District of Columbia.

Upcoming Events Planning Your Financial Future Seminars @yourlibrary: Tax Tips that Save Tuesday October 30, 2007 6:30 pm to 8 pm    Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library 901 G Street NW Main Lobby Washington, DC   DISB and the Business Division of the Martin Luther King Jr. Library will co-host these series of free financial-education seminars to help you jumpstart your financial portfolio, help you get out of debt, save money and build wealth. William Stromsen with the Tax Division at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the George Washington University School of Business and Public Administration will discuss saving money during the tax season and through various tax advantages. Upcoming Financial Topics:  Dec. 13 All You Need to Know About Having a Mortgage First-Wednesday Money-Saving Seminars DISB continues its First-Wednesday Money-Saving Seminars at DISB’s office from noon to 1 pm at 810 First St., NE, Suite 701. There are two more for the year: Nov. 7 Health Insurance Awareness Month Dec. 5 Tax Tips that Save Universal Health Public Forum A Universal Health Coverage public forum will be held Thursday, Nov. 15, 2007, 10 am–12 pm at the DC Department of Health, 825 N. Capitol Street, NE, Room 2125. This is a discussion among local policymakers on universal health coverage, moderated by AcademyHealth, the administrator of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s State Coverage Initiative.

401(k) Plan Survey Emphasizes Need for More Investor Education
More than 83 percent of 401(k) plan participants did not know how much they pay in fees or the expenses associated with their plan; and more than half do not feel knowledgeable about the impact that fees can have on their retirement savings, according to an AARP 401(k) plan survey, 401(k) Participants’ Awareness and Understanding of Fees. These revelations present challenges for investor-education initiatives designed by financial-service regulators such as DISB and the North American Securities Administrators Association, of which DISB is a member. Plan participants expressed views that their employers that sponsor plans, the financial companies that administer the plans or the participants themselves should be most responsible for ensuring that they understand fees charged by plans.

"Free Lunch" Investment Seminars Are Not So Free
During a recent US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Seniors Summit, it was revealed that securities regulators found that 100 percent of the free lunch seminars were in fact, sales presentations. While many sales seminars were advertised as educational workshops, and “nothing will be sold,” they were intended to result in the attendees’ opening new accounts, and ultimately, in the sales of investment products, if not at the seminar itself, then in follow-up contacts with attendees.

DISB Commissions Study on the Impact of Subprime Mortgages
As the housing market continues its downward spiral, DC officials have grown increasingly concerned about the impact of the crumbling subprime market nationwide. With foreclosures rising, especially among subprime borrowers, DISB recently contracted with the DC-based Center for Responsible Lending, a nonprofit research group, to study the impact of subprime mortgage lending in the city. The study, which is expected to be completed by January, will also include work by The Urban Institute, The Reinvestment Fund, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and the Capital Area Asset Builders. The group will then explore ways to help homeowners who now find themselves with balloon payments and interest rates resetting to unreachable levels.

(L-R) Industrial Bank’s president and CEO Doyle Mitchell Jr., DISB Commissioner Thomas E. Hampton, Industrial Bank’s chair Clinton Chapman and DISB Associate Commissioner for Banking Howard Amer.

Industrial Bank Enjoys a District Homecoming
The DC Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) recently chartered Industrial Bank as a District bank, a homecoming for the 73-year-old bank that recently converted from a national banking association. Industrial Bank is the sixth largest African-American-owned commercial bank in the United States and is reported to be the oldest and largest minority-owned commercial bank in the metropolitan Washington region. Industrial Bank is a full-service commercial bank offering a wide variety of banking services including checking, savings and investment accounts for retail and commercial customers. It was founded by real estate investor and  broker and attorney Jesse H. Mitchell, grandfather of its current chief executive officer, B. Doyle Mitchell Jr., and operates five branches in the District and two branches in Maryland. Under a District charter, DISB will supervise Industrial Bank, which is now the third bank chartered and regulated under District law since 2004. On September 21, the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Neil Albert and DISB Commissioner Thomas E. Hampton presented the District bank charter to Industrial Bank’s president and CEO Doyle Mitchell Jr. at the bank’s office on 4812 Georgia Ave., NW.

(L-R) DISB staff volunteers (in white T-shirts), Marionnetta Dickens, Sylvia Matthews and LuCynthia Jordan distribute water to the seniors. DISB in the Community DISB received the ElderFest Appreciation Award for Outstanding Support by an Event Exhibitor for its long-time support of the annual ElderFest celebration on Freedom Plaza on Sept. 6. Acting Deputy Commissioner John Wallace was on hand to receive the award from Dr. Clarence Brown, the executive director of the DC Office on Aging, which sponsors the yearly event.

HISPA Consumer Expo 2007
DISB was one of 200 exhibitors on display during the HISPA Consumer Expo 2007 at the Washington Convention Center at the end of August. Staff promoted DISB’s financial-service regulatory and financial educational role and distributed instructional literature and answered questions about insurance, keys to investing, health insurance programs and coverage, automobile insurance, residential mortgage lending by mortgage brokers and lenders. The HISPA Expo was founded with a mission of highlighting the growing and prospering Hispanic-American population of the Washington metropolitan area to providers of goods and services. Organizers of the annual expo display the latest trends in fashion, consumer products and services, educational and career opportunities, cultural items, health and beauty information.

GEICO Decreases Auto Insurance Rates in the District
DISB recently announced that GEICO, the largest auto insurer in the region, is instituting rate decreases ranging from 2.1 percent to 5.8 percent for District of Columbia drivers, depending on each driver’s coverage choices and driving records. This represents $2.2 million in savings for GEICO customers in the District of Columbia, according to DISB Commissioner Thomas E. Hampton, who added that the rate change would affect about 62,000 policyholders. The new rates were effective Oct. 11 for new customers and Dec. 1 for renewals. The rate change is partly due to DISB’s flexible regulatory scheme, which allows companies such as GEICO to adjust their premium rates according to market changes. They are also due to the District customers’ driving records, as well as less severity in the claims, according to Nancy Pierce, regional vice president, who manages GEICO’s operations for Washington, DC, policyholders. GEICO previously reduced its District rates in 2004 and 2006. The company has been selling car insurance in Washington, DC, since 1936, and is the fourth-largest private passenger auto insurer in the United States, providing auto coverage for more than eight million policyholders and more than 13 million vehicles.

DISB Receives Feasibility Study Grant From CMS
DISB recently received a $150,000 grant from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to perform a feasibility study on the creation and initial operation of a qualified high-risk pool for the District’s uninsurable population. The timeframe for the project was set for Sept. 30, 2007, to March 31, 2009; however, DISB anticipates that it will complete the project substantially ahead of time. The study is expected to establish a mechanism for the city to provide services to medically uninsurable District residents; and that it would show that the establishment of a high-risk pool in the District will be an acceptable alternative to the CareFirst Open Enrollment Program, which provides coverage to those who are medically uninsurable. The CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Open Enrollment Program expires February 2008, leaving District residents who are unable to obtain health insurance from the market without an alternative.

DISB Marked September’s Life Insurance Awareness Month
For the second year in a row, DISB marked September as Life Insurance Awareness Month to keep consumers informed with tips about life insurance throughout September. This month was designed to help increase public awareness about the importance of life insurance in providing protection for unforeseen events and the benefits of advice from financial-service professionals. While many people do not like to consider the unthinkable, they must, especially with the high cost of living in the District of Columbia. Having a Life Insurance Awareness Month gives District residents an opportunity to examine their priorities and needs based on changes in their financial situations and life stages. “One of the biggest mistakes we make is not changing our policies to match our changing needs,” said DISB Commissioner Thomas E. Hampton. “As regulators, we want to help District consumers make wiser choices about the types of insurance that best fit their lifestyles and personal needs.” 

During the month, DISB sent out weekly life insurance tips in the hope that they forced residents to think about making insurance changes based on their life stages—marriage, divorce, new baby, new job, retirement or death. Studies have shown that 70 million Americans say they lack the life insurance coverage they need to ensure the financial security of their loved ones. Life insurance should not be considered a luxury. That is why DISB had set aside this month for sending its information to various resources.

(L-R) DISB Commissioner Thomas E. Hampton introduces attendees to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners president and Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Insurance Walter A. Bell who delivered the keynote address.

DISB Hosts a Successful Insurance Open House
More than 60 insurance licensees and industry representatives attended DISB’s second annual Insurance Open House on Sept. 27 at its offices at 810 First St., NE. The day-long event provided updates on the agency’s insurance regulatory requirements and procedures, as well as its overall work in financial regulation and protection. Attendees signed up for sessions on fraud compliance, legal updates and market analysis, as well as one-one-one sessions on consumer complaints, form filing and company and producer licensing. Many walked away with a sense that DISB is working toward more openness in government, one where both consumers and businesses will find information directed at their needs. Each attendee received a comprehensive booklet of information that offered various filing procedures, division information, and notices of fraud and legislative updates. Participants also enjoyed a guided tour of the main office where they met various staff.