Jones D insur comm

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<a href="http://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2016/statement010-16.cfm">http://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2016/statement010-16.cfm</a>

<h1>California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones calls for insurance industry divestment from coal</h1>

News: 2016 Press Release

<div class="newsReleaseDate">For Release: January 25, 2016</div>

<div class="newsMediaCalls">Media Calls Only: 916-492-3566</div>

<div class="newsHeadline">California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones calls for insurance industry divestment from coal </div>

<div class="newsSubheadline">Commissioner also announces new requirement for disclosure of carbon-based investments held by insurance companies </div>

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — Today, California

Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones asked all insurance companies doing

business in California to voluntarily divest from their investments in

thermal coal. Complying with this request would include making no new

investments, not renewing any existing investments and selling or

withdrawing from existing investments in thermal coal. Commissioner

Jones also announced that in April of this year he will initiate a data

call that requires insurance companies to disclose annually their

carbon-based investments including those in oil, gas and coal. These

required financial disclosures will be made public and will be used by

the Department of Insurance to assess the degree of financial risk posed

to insurance companies by their investments in the carbon-based

economy.Commissioner Jones is the first insurance regulator in

the nation to call on insurance companies to divest from thermal coal.

Jones is also the first to announce that he will require insurance

companies to provide detailed and public disclosures of their

investments in the carbon economy. Commissioner Jones regulates

the largest insurance market in the United States and the sixth largest

in the world, where insurance companies collect $259 billion in premiums

from Californians annually.Commissioner Jones issued the following statement:"Today

I ask insurance companies doing business in California to voluntarily

divest from investments they hold in thermal coal. "I am also

announcing that insurance companies doing business in California will be

asked to provide to the Department of Insurance detailed and specific

financial disclosures of their investments in the carbon economy

including coal, oil and gas. We will make this new information public so

that investors, policyholders, regulators and the general public can

know the extent to which insurance companies are invested in the carbon

economy. "The Department of Insurance will use this new

information to evaluate the potential financial risk to insurance

companies posed by investments in the carbon economy. "My

decision to ask insurance companies to divest from thermal coal and to

require insurance companies to disclose investments in the carbon

economy arises from my statutory responsibility to make sure that

insurance companies address potential financial risks in the reserves

they hold to pay future claims. "As utilities decrease their use

of coal and other carbon fuel sources, as states like California limit

the ability of the private sector to use coal and other carbon fuels for

power generation and require their pension funds to divest from coal,

as states like California and the United States impose more stringent

air quality requirements which limit the ability to burn coal and other

carbon fuels, and as nations across the world begin to implement the

commitments they made to reduce their use of carbon at the recent United

Nations COP21 Climate Summit in Paris, investments in coal and the

carbon economy run the risk of becoming a stranded asset of diminishing

value. "The movement away from coal and the rest of the carbon

economy poses a potential financial risk to insurance companies

investing in coal and the carbon economy. The potential risk of

continuing such investments is that they lose value over time or that

they lose value quickly. In either case, such investments pose a

potential financial risk to those who invest in them. "Last year

global temperatures were higher than ever before. Climate scientists

tell us that without dramatic reductions in the use of carbon, we will

continue to see increases in global temperatures and major changes in

climate with negative consequences. "At some point nations and

states may dramatically restrict the use of carbon. At that point, or

earlier in anticipation of those restrictions, investments in coal

mines, in oil and gas wells, in companies that extract coal, oil or

natural gas, in utilities that rely on coal, oil or gas, among others,

could drop dramatically in value. Before that happens it is important

for insurance companies and insurance regulators to understand the scope

of these investments by insurance companies and to take steps to

mitigate financial risks. Divestment from thermal coal in particular

will help protect insurance companies from holding an investment

dropping in value, and which is likely to suffer substantial additional

decline in value during a transition to a reduced carbon economy."California

is decarbonizing its economy and transitioning to clean, pollution free

energy resources. Utilities have been required by law to dramatically

reduce their reliance on carbon. California's cap and trade program also

results in raising the cost of carbon and reducing its use. Two of the

world's largest pension funds—CalSTRS and CalPERS—have been required by

the state legislature to divest their thermal coal investments by July

"A number of insurance companies have also recognized the

risks of continued investment in thermal coal. Allianz, which is not

only an international insurance company but one of the world's largest

financial asset managers, announced that it would decrease investments

in companies using coal and boost funding in those focused on wind

power. Similarly, Axa Insurance Company announced last year that it will

remove from its portfolio, and refrain from future investment in,

companies that derive more than half of their income from coal mining.

This policy will also apply to electrical utilities that derive more

than half of their energy from thermal coal plants."Today, I am

asking all insurance companies to phase-out their thermal coal

investments by refraining from making new investments, refraining from

renewing existing investments, and by eliminating any existing thermal

coal holdings. I realize that it will be challenging for some insurers

to immediately eliminate all of their existing thermal coal investments,

but I strongly encourage them to move in this direction. "To

determine the current level of financial exposure in the Insurance

sector to risks from carbon economy investment, I am launching an effort

to collect detailed financial data about the level and types of

carbon-based investments held by all insurance companies that write $100

million or more in premium nationally. Knowing how much money insurers

have invested in oil, gas, coal, and related companies, should inform us

about any financial vulnerability the insurance industry has to a

decarbonized economy, and help insurers and regulators determine how

best to address this risk, including additional divestment. "I am

inviting insurance companies to meet with my Department to provide

technical input on how we can best collect this information. "I

do not want to sit by and then discover in the near future that

insurance companies' books are filled with stranded assets that have

lost their value because of a shift away from the carbon-based economy,

jeopardizing their financial stability and ability to meet their

obligations, including paying claims to policyholders. Insurance

companies divesting thermal coal assets will help reduce coal

combustion, the single largest contributor to global climate change in

the United States."# # #Media notes: <ul><li>Commissioner

Jones leads a national, multi-state insurance regulators group that

surveys annually more than 1,000 companies regarding their response to

climate risk, capturing approximately 77 percent of the entire U.S.

insurance market. <a href="http://www.insurance.ca.gov/0250-insurers/0300-insurers/0100-applications/ClimateSurvey/">Survey results</a> can be found on the California Department of Insurance's website.</li><li>Commissioner

Jones will speak about his work to get insurance companies to address

climate risk at the 2016 Investor Summit on Climate Risk at United

Nations Headquarters in New York City on Wednesday, January 27th.    </li><li><a id="https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/multimedia/0020VideoPC/Video_Divest_from_coal.cfm|" href="https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/multimedia/0020VideoPC/Video_Divest_from_coal.cfm">Video of the press conference</a> is available for viewing.</li><li>Photos are available on <a id="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ca_dept_insurance/albums/72157663878303071|" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ca_dept_insurance/albums/72157663878303071">CDI's Flickr site</a>.</li></ul>

</div><div id="cs_control_245699" class="cs_control CS_Element_Textblock"><div class="CS_Textblock_Text">

The California Department of Insurance, established in 1868, is the

largest consumer protection agency in California. Insurers collect $259

billion in premiums annually in California. In 2014 the California

Department of Insurance received more than 175,000 calls from consumers

and helped recover over $63 million in claims and premiums. Please visit

the Department of Insurance web site at <a class="CP___PAGEID_245506" href="http://www.insurance.ca.gov/index.cfm">www.insurance.ca.gov</a>.

Non-media inquiries should be directed to the Consumer Hotline at

800.927.HELP or 213.897.8921. Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf

(TDD), please dial 800.482.4833.</div></div></div></div>==

Dave Jones is California's Insurance Commissioner. He was first elected

Insurance Commissioner on November 2, 2010 and re-elected November 4,

Jones leads the California Department of Insurance and regulates

the California insurance market. Insurers collect $259 billion a year in

premiums in California, making it the nation's largest insurance

market. Since taking office, Jones has secured crucial victories for

consumers, including:

<ul><li>Saved California consumers and businesses over $2.2 billion in

premiums by regulating rates for auto, homeowners and other property and

casualty insurance;</li><li>Implementing healthcare reform, including market reforms to protect consumers and expand access to health insurance;</li><li>Issued emergency regulations establishing stronger requirements for

health insurers to create and maintain sufficient medical provider

networks to provide timely access to medical care;</li><li>Saved California consumers $343 million through the review of health insurance rates;</li><li>Recovered more than $282 million for consumers from consumer complaints and market conduct exams;</li><li>Sponsored successful  legislation to give small employers more time to comply with the Affordable Care Act;</li><li>Reduced medical malpractice rates, saving medical providers $55 million;</li><li>Required health insurance companies to cover an essential treatment for autism;</li><li>Protected California's seniors with new laws on the sale of annuities;</li><li>Obtained insurance company investments in low and moderate income communities;</li><li>Investigating insurance fraud, which has led to nearly 3,817 arrests to date;</li><li>Won a major anti-fraud lawsuit combatting  healthcare provider fraud, which costs consumers hundreds of millions of dollars; and
</li><li>Leading a national investigation of life insurance companies and

secured payment of hundreds of millions in unpaid benefits and strict

business reforms to ensure companies end decades-long practice of

improperly holding onto life insurance benefits;</li><li>Established first in the nation insurance diversity initiative increasing procurement from diverse suppliers by $587 million.</li></ul>

The Daily Journal, the state's largest legal newspaper, in 2011 named

him one of California's Top 100 Lawyers. The Greenlining Institute gave

Jones their "2012 Big Heart Award" for his work promoting insurance

industry diversity. Jones received the 2012 Distinguished Advocate Award

from Autism Speaks.

Jones served in the California State Assembly from 2004 through 2010,

where he chaired the Assembly Health Committee, the Assembly Judiciary

Committee and the Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services.

Named "Consumer Champion" by the California Consumer Federation, Jones

was also awarded the "Leadership Award" by the Western Center on Law and

Poverty. Planned Parenthood, Environment California, the Urban League,

Preschool California and CalPIRG have all honored his work. Capitol

Weekly named Jones California's "most effective legislator" other than

the Assembly Speaker and the Senate President Pro Tempore. The American

Psychiatric Association awarded Jones its prestigious Jacob K. Javits

Public Service Award in 2015 for his work on mental health parity.

As a legislator, Jones had more than seventy bills signed into law, including:

<ul><li>Reforming California's conservatorship laws, enacting sweeping

protections for seniors and dependent adults facing abuse (Assembly Bill

1363 of 2006);</li><li>Preventing HMOs and health insurers from discriminating against

women by charging men and women different rates for the same health

insurance policies (Assembly Bill 119 of 2009);</li><li>First-in-the-nation "green insurance" legislation allowing

Californians to share their personal vehicles in car-sharing pools

without invalidating their auto insurance (Assembly Bill 1871 of 2010);</li><li>Securing billions in federal funding to improve California's

hospital health care safety net and fund children's health care by

establishing a hospital provider fee (Assembly Bill 1383 of 2009);</li><li>Protecting private medical records from misuse (Assembly Bill 1298 of 2007) and disclosure (Assembly Bill 211 of 2008;</li><li>Creating one of the nation's largest early childhood education and

preschool programs to give children the best possible start (Assembly

Bill 2759 of 2008).</li></ul>

Jones began his career as a legal aid attorney, providing free legal

assistance to the poor with Legal Services of Northern California from

1988 to 1995. In 1995, Jones was one of only 13 Americans awarded the

prestigious White House Fellowship. He served in the Clinton

Administration for three years as Special Assistant and Counsel to U.S.

Attorney General Janet Reno. Jones served on the Sacramento City Council

from 1999 to 2004.

Jones graduated with honors from DePauw University, Harvard Law

School and Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. He and his

wife, Kim Flores, have two children, Isabelle and William.

Updated 11/12/2015

<a id="CP___PAGEID=259851,/0500-about-us/01-commissioner/CondensedBio.cfm,1243|" href="http://www.insurance.ca.gov/0500-about-us/01-commissioner/CondensedBio.cfm">Condensed Biography of Commissioner Dave Jones</a>
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<a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-california-fires-billion-dollars-losses-20160125-story.html">
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-california-fires-billion-dollars-losses-20160125-story.html</a>
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huh?

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2016/01/27/396564.htm

work comp class action
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