Motor vehicle insurance: fraud.

Existing law creates the Department of Insurance and generally regulates the business of insurance in the state. Existing law requires an insurer doing business in California to pay an annual special purpose assessment, in an amount to be determined by the commissioner, but not to exceed $1, for each vehicle insured under a policy it issues in this state, which is used to fund increased investigation and prosecution of fraudulent automobile insurance claims and economic automobile theft. Under existing law, $0.05 of that assessment is required to be spent for enhanced automobile insurance fraud investigation by the department's Fraud Division. Existing law also requires an insurer doing business in California to pay an annual special purpose assessment to fund the Organized Automobile Fraud Activity Interdiction Program, in an amount to be determined by the commissioner, but not to exceed $0.50, for each vehicle insured under a policy it issues in this state. This bill would increase those maximum special purpose assessments to $1.36 annually per insured vehicle to fund increased investigation and prosecution of fraudulent automobile insurance claims and economic automobile theft and $0.74 annually per insured vehicle to fund the Organized Automobile Fraud Activity Interdiction Program. The bill would eliminate the requirement that $0.05 of the first assessment described above be spent for enhanced automobile insurance fraud investigation by the Fraud Division, and would adjust the distribution of those assessment funds, as specified.