ICAE Welcome and Welcome to South Carolina
Mike Hammond, ICAE President (Fireman’s Fund), opens the 2011 Charleston Exchange.
ICAE Welcome and Welcome to South Carolina
Mike Hammond, ICAE president, opened the 2011 ICAE Exchange by welcoming all attendees and thanking the sponsors of the 2011 Exchange—noting especially Diamond sponsor, Nationwide Insurance; Emerald sponsor, SureBridge; and Platinum sponsor, LexisNexis.
On a somber note, Hammond called for a moment of silence in memoriam for Kim Sledge, ICAE regulator attendee from the Louisiana Department of Insurance, who died while performing her job as investigator for the department. She was a strong supporter of ICAE and her many friends in attendance remember and will miss her.
A southern-style welcome
Jim Byrd, deputy director, South Carolina Department of Insurance (DOI), took the podium to add the department’s official welcome with the words, “I am from the government and I am here to help you.” And he proceeded to do just that—to help all attendees learn more about the Charleston venue, he presented an in-depth overview of the city and surrounding area noting, “Charleston is listed on the 2011 World’s Best list of cities in the U.S. and Canada and features historic, architectural, sporting, and cultural attractions that make the city of interest to all ages.”
Jim Byrd, deputy director, South Carolina DOI, provided a ‘southern hospitality’ welcome to Exchange attendees.
South Carolina DOI
More to the topic for attendees, Byrd shared information about the South Carolina DOI. In South Carolina, the governor appoints the director and, Byrd observed, the current director is able to strike the right note of providing a positive business atmosphere while still being considered to be a friend of the consumer.
What is South Carolina’s DOI up to at this time? Byrd provided a detailed overview of the department in terms of services provided:
- Complaint-handling process includes a same-day acknowledgment of complaint with a timeline so consumer knows where an issue stands now and what to expect in the future.
- Outreach and education initiatives, noting that outreach is working because the volume for South Carolina is estimated at 300 walk-ins and almost 60,000 additional contacts—phone or written—each year. To ensure all consumers are reached, South Carolina uses innovative outreach methods from emails to health fairs to collateral materials.
- Disaster Assistance Program provides consumers with immediate assistance and helps direct consumers to quick resolution after experiencing losses.
- Market Assistance Programs help identify and eliminate those producers who might not be up to ethical standards required by the state.
Thanking consumer affairs
Byrd acknowledged the importance of the work of consumer affairs professionals and recognized the scope of consumer affairs professionals’ knowledge base—noting that consumer affairs professionals need to know about virtually every aspect of a company. He stated the consumer services sector “as being the unsung hero of insurance commerce.” Although he hesitated to discuss the notion of partnership between DOIs and the industry, he noted a working interaction was, in his opinion, one of the best ways to help the consumer. Comments concluded, Byrd announced he would let the group get to work and officially opened the 2011 ICAE Exchange.
CONTACT INFO
James Byrd
Deputy Director
South Carolina Department of Insurance
Capital Station – 1201 Main Street
Columbia, SC 29201
803.737.6143
jbyrd@doi.sc.gov
www.doi.sc.gov
PRESENTATION
Click here to view Byrd’s presentation
