House reviews proposal to let insurance firms email notifications

by Hilary Niles vtdigger.org
Insurance customers may be able to choose email over postal mail delivery for billing and cancellation notices, under a proposal being considered in the Vermont House.
Customers would be able to opt in to the paperless method. Insurance companies wouldn’t be allowed to push them to it, and could not charge a fee for paper copies.
Current regulations don’t technically prevent insurance companies from sending email notices. However, all communication must be mailed in hard copy. The new law would allow one method or another.
The concept behind H.260 was largely well-received in the House Commerce Committee on Thursday, but some legislators wanted to ensure adequate consumer protections are included.
Rep Michele Kupersmith, D-South Burlington, was particularly concerned about cancellation notices being sent by email.
She pointed out that people change emails more often than they change physical mailing addresses. If an email cancellation notice were to bounce, she said, the insurance company should be required to send a paper copy to cover its bases.
‘Nothing’s foolproof,’ said Susan Donegan, commissioner of the Department of Financial Regulation, which regulates the state’s insurance industry. ‘And nothing’s foolproof when you put things in the mail,’ she said, noting that she believes adequate safeguards for consumers already are in place.