In addition to the special purpose assessment imposed pursuant to Section 1872.8, effective July 1, 2014, an insurer doing business in this state shall, until January 1, 2016, pay to the commissioner an annual special purpose assessment of twenty-six cents ($0.26), and thereafter pay to the commissioner an annual special purpose assessment in an amount not to exceed twenty-six cents ($0.26), as determined by the commissioner, for each vehicle insured under an insurance policy it issues in this state, for expenditure, upon appropriation by the Legislature, as follows:
(a) Two-thirds of the special purpose assessment shall be used for the purpose of funding the consumer service functions of the department that are related to regulating automobile insurers, including those functions performed by the rating and underwriting service bureau, the claims service bureau, the investigations bureau, or any successor bureaus of the department that may assume the consumer service functions of these bureaus, and legal services in support of these bureaus.
(b) One-third of the special purpose assessment shall be used for the purpose of improving consumer functions identified in subdivision (a) of the department that are related to regulating automobile insurers, including, for improving the ability of the department to respond to consumer complaints and information requests through the department’s toll-free telephone number, and for improving the ability of the department to offer information about automobile insurance rates to the public.
(c) Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the department may use up to five cents ($0.05) of the special purpose assessment revenues collected pursuant to this section to notify insurers and other members of the public about the existence of any low-cost automobile insurance program established pursuant to Section 11629.7 or other statutes that establish a program of the type identified in Section 11629.7. In requesting an appropriation for this purpose under its proposed plan developed pursuant to Section 11629.85, the department shall explain, with as much specificity as is reasonably possible, the objectives for the use of the funds and the quantitative criteria by which the Legislature may evaluate the effectiveness of the department’s use of the funds.
(d) The commissioner shall include, in the annual report submitted pursuant to Section 12922, all of the following information:
(1) The number of opened consumer complaints related to automobile insurance.
(2) The number of opened investigations related to automobile insurance.
(3) The number of investigations related to automobile insurance referred to prosecuting agencies.
(4) The number of administrative or regulatory cases related to automobile insurance referred to the department’s legal division.
(5) The number of administrative or regulatory enforcement actions taken in cases related to automobile insurance.
(6) Total aggregate annual assessment revenue and expenditures pursuant to the assessment.
(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 407, Sec. 1. (AB 1395) Effective January 1, 2015.)