The California Department of Insurance, also commonly referred to as CADOI, hosts one of the most informative and helpful state department websites in the country. The Department of Insurance in California is responsible for a wide variety of governmental tasks concerning the entire insurance industry in the state of California. A portion of their mission statement reads, “Seeking improvements in customer service and quality control within the California Department of Insurance.” As of this publishing in February 2008, CADOI is led by Steve Poizner, the California Insurance Commissioner.

The California Department of Insurance is a practical archive for consumer resources. The first link on CADOI’s website under ‘consumers’ takes you to a plethora of information on how to purchase all types of insurance, with everything from an online agent-finder search function to a glossary of insurance terms and information guides. Everything from licensee information, a section on laws & regulations, and market reports can also be found within the consumer resource section of their website.

The website also offers information for insurance agents & brokers. The California Department of Insurance offers insurance vendors any necessary license applications, forms, and renewals, as well as the opportunity to view their license statuses. Notices on different aspects of California insurance industry, such as new requirements or fee reductions, are continually updated on this section of the website.

Similar to directly above, the website also hosts a small section for actual insurers, the California insurance companies. CADOI makes available all necessary forms, applications & filings to make updated insurance policies and information easily accessible to the insurance companies. California’s Department of Insurance periodically posts bulletins, notices and official opinions that clarify interpretation on certain issues or laws. A lot of legal information is included in this portion of the website, including legal regulations, insurance codes, and insurance-related legislation.

In addition to enforcing insurance-related laws in the state of California, the state’s Department of Insurance helps out the community in a variety of other ways. Starting off with their very own consumer hotline, 1-800-927-HELP, the California Department of Insurance is an obvious advocate for California’s Low-Cost Automobile Insurance Program, the leading program of its type in the country. In addition to this, information on avoiding all different types of insurance fraud is also found on the website. Press releases are also often released to inform the public on current issues within the state’s insurance industry.

As a governmental agency in California, the California Department of Insurance really does do a great job of catering to the state’s insurance industry, while also offering the public a wealth of information and help should they need it. CADOI is a good state department standard for not only the quality and quantity of content found on their website, but the California Department of Insurance’s purpose and mission as an agency in the first place.