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A new consumer advocate bureau within the Iowa Insurance Division would operate autonomously and potentially address big-picture consumer issues, said Insurance Commissioner Susan Voss.

Senate File 2555, which is expected to be signed into law by Gov. Chet Culver, would on July 1 establish a separate consumer advocate bureau within the division. Voss said she has scheduled a May 6 meeting for legislators and industry and consumer groups to discuss the role of the new bureau.

“I’d like to hear from these groups (to ask), what do you envision?” she said.

The Insurance Division has for years handled consumer complaints, though no statute specifically mandates it. Currently, 20 members of the division’s staff fielded more than 2,200 complaints and levied fines on agents and companies totaling more than $1.5 million.

The legislation was a reaction in part to concern that the Insurance Division was not responsive to complaints regarding long-term-care insurance policies. It calls for the division to annually report to the Legislature on the activities of the consumer advocate.

“The unfortunate thing there was, yes, there were some times when we didn’t probably do as much as we could,” Voss said. “But not because we didn’t want to; it was either we didn’t have the authority, or clearly there were issues beyond the scope of this office.”

Voss said the consumer advocate would be hired by her with the advice of the governor’s office and would report to her.

“I think the consumer advocate is someone who’s clearly going to look at complaints, but maybe from a larger perspective,” she said.

Voss noted that the consumer advocate does not replace the current consumer complaint process, but provides another alternative.

“I think you should always try every avenue you can,” she said. “If the consumer advocate can look at it from a different perspective and say, “I don’t think you’ve tried every avenue,’ I think we should give it a shot.”