Salem – The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation (DFR) recently received its five-year accreditation from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). The association announced the news at its summer conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last week. The purpose of NAIC accreditation is to ensure that state insurance departments meet baseline standards of solvency regulation, particularly with respect to regulation of multistate insurers.

“We are honored to have earned accreditation, and it is due to the exceptional efforts of Division of Financial Regulation Deputy Administrator Kirsten Anderson, Chief Analyst Paul Throckmorton, and Chief Examiner Teresa Borrowman, along with the entire Insurance Institutions team,” acting Insurance Commissioner TK Keen said. “As financial transactions, filings, and company structures become more complex, we are proud to have a financial regulation team that is up for the challenge and has been recognized for its continued excellence.”

Accreditation is awarded only after a detailed, comprehensive review process. The accreditation program at NAIC includes a pre-accreditation review one year before the full review, a full accreditation review that occurs every five years, and interim annual reviews. The full accreditation review DFR underwent included an analysis of state laws and regulations, the agency’s financial analysis and examinations processes, oversight and organizational practices, and primary licensing and re-domestication practices.

“We take our responsibility to protect consumers very seriously in monitoring insurers for solvency and compliance,” Keen said. “Earning NAIC accreditation is a testament to our staff’s professionalism, competence, and expertise in financial regulation, and reaffirms our commitment to rigorous oversight.”

Getting accredited through NAIC’s program gives state regulators the ability to work with other states’ financial regulation practices and improves the potential for coordination across states through comprehensive exams and enforcement actions.

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About Oregon DFR: The Division of Financial Regulation protects consumers and regulates insurance, depository institutions, trust companies, securities, and consumer financial products and services. The division is part of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, Oregon’s largest consumer protection and business regulatory agency. Visit dfr.oregon.gov and dcbs.oregon.gov.

Salem – From April through June, the consumer advocates in the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation (DFR) recovered $1,234,499 that went directly back to Oregonians, bringing the year-to-date total to more than $3.7 million.

DFR’s consumer advocates have extensive knowledge across many areas of regulation, including helping those experiencing difficulties with insurance, mortgages, banking products, securities, student loans, and a variety of other financial services regulated by the division.

“The over $3.7 million returned to Oregonians is a testament to what we can do when state government works diligently to protect consumers and hold companies accountable,” Gov. Tina Kotek said. “I applaud the continued commitment to ensuring fairness and justice in necessary consumer services.”

In the second quarter of 2025, consumer advocates received 1,367 total complaints. Insurance complaints continue to lead the way with 831 in the quarter. Mortgage service and credit union complaints were the next highest in the areas DFR regulates with 53.

From January through March 2025, DFR recovered nearly $2.5 million for consumers and handled more than 1,400 complaints.

Examples of consumer complaints successfully resolved by DFR advocates this quarter include:

• A consumer experienced a fire loss in October 2024, but could not get any real movement on the claim. The consumer filed a complaint in April, at which time about $26,000 had been issued. After the insurance company received the complaint, the file was reviewed by a claims manager who then contacted the consumer. The consumer informed the insurer of the frustrations he and his contractor were experiencing, including supplements that had gone unpaid and items that were not approved for repair or replacement. After this discussion, the insurer contacted the contractor to resolve outstanding items, which resulted in an additional $75,224.29 being issued for the repair and rebuild of the home.

• A complaint was filed to address claim difficulties after a water loss due to the 2024 ice storm. The water damage was extensive, and the homeowner was displaced and had to use their additional living expenses (ALE) coverage from their policy. Initial claim delays were centered on a lack of contractor availability. That quickly changed to disputed cost differences between the estimates of the insurance company and the consumer. After several months, the consumer filed the complaint. Based on repairs and construction disputes, an extension was needed for the ALE as the 12-month benefit period was quickly approaching. The consumer advocate secured an extension for the ALE and then concentrated on the other parts of the claim. After several months of discussion with the insurer, a final settlement was reached, resulting in a claim payout of $488,298 being issued to the consumer.

• A borrower who the DFR student loan ombuds helped in late 2024 reached out to say she had $34,000 in private debt canceled as a result of filing a complaint with DFR. The servicer offered her a predatory school discharge application that she was not aware existed for private debt in order to resolve her complaint.

“I am very impressed with the volume of work our consumer advocates are dealing with every day,” said Sean O’Day, interim director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services. “They have a high level of professionalism and they continue to exceed our customer service expectations at DCBS. They use their industry expertise to get money back into the pockets of Oregonians.”

Anyone who may need a consumer advocate can call 888-877-4894 (toll-free) or email dfr.insurancehelp@dcbs.oregon.gov for insurance-related issues and dfr.finanicialserviceshelp@dcbs.oregon.gov for financial-related issues.

“Our team continues to put its expertise to work for the benefit of Oregonians,” said TK Keen, DFR administrator and acting insurance commissioner. “Many of their cases are highly complex and take a lot of time to navigate, but their work does not go unnoticed and I am happy to see so much money going back to hard-working people.”

Here is the list of complaints through the first two quarters of 2025:

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About Oregon DFR: The Division of Financial Regulation protects consumers and regulates insurance, depository institutions, trust companies, securities, and consumer financial products and services. The division is part of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, Oregon’s largest consumer protection and business regulatory agency. Visit dfr.oregon.gov and dcbs.oregon.gov.