Audit Blasts DOI; $2 Billion Mismanaged

The Los Angeles Times reported today that auditor Elaine Howle, requested by Department of Insurance (DOI) Commissioner, Harry Lowe, said that the DOI improperly managed nearly $2 billion in assets seized from financially troubled carriers. Howle's report says that the DOI often hired contractors without seeking competitive bids, employed workers who did not meet the minimum qualifications for the job, wasted $6 million on a computer system that does not work, that previous audit findings had been ignored, and that the department frequently failed to keep track of all of the physical assets o...