Sometimes regulators come up with “ideas” that are supposed to help the consumer. Recently, the California Department of Insurance came up with a mandate of changes to disability insurance that may have the unintended consequences of less availability of disability insurance. Milliman recently did an analysis of what this mandate may mean and why consumers may not be better off. A press release follows: New California Regulation ‘Significantly Increases’ Cost of Disability Insurance Yahoo! News (press release) - Nov 15, 2005… ” Prepared by a nationally recognized actuarial consulting firm, Milliman Inc., the report says, “The purchasers of group and individual disability income (DI) insurance, both employers and individuals, will be the ones most affected by the Department’s proposed policy language changes.” Here are some excepts from the study: Specifically, the Milliman analysis finds the proposed changes will: * Significantly increase the cost of DI insurance by as much as 46% for group products and 33% for individual products; * Limit the range of DI insurance products available to California consumers; * Reduce the total amount of DI protection per life that Californians may access; and * Discourage some DI claimants from returning to work. “Disability insurance is a crucial part of the financial security of millions of working Californians. We commissioned this study to give decision-makers better information on the potential impacts of the regulatory changes proposed by the Department of Insurance,” said Karen Ignagni, president and CEO of AHIP, a national trade association representing nearly 1,300 members providing health benefits, including disability income insurance, to more than 200 million Americans. The Milliman report is available online: http://www.ahip.org/content/default.aspx?docid=13557. For information and quotes about disability insurance go to www.protectyourincome.com