SACRAMENTO – On Monday, California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones directed his department to commence a regulatory review of insurers' rates and other lines of business where insurers would benefit from the federal tax cuts.

The purpose of that review is to identify specific legal authority and necessary amendments to rate formulas and the procedures for addressing insurers' rates to pass the decrease in taxes on to California policyholders where authorized.

On Tuesday, Consumer Federation of America issued a letter to Commissioner Jones and other insurance regulators on this very issue asking them to require insurers to file lower rates to reflect the federal tax legislation passed by Congress.

In a letter to insurance commissioners across the country, Consumer Federation shared examples of the impact of the reduced tax rates on insurers profitability and asked the commissioners to ensure these significant savings be passed on to insurance consumers.

"Insurers will now realize significant savings from these recent tax reductions," said Commissioner Jones. "Policyholders should also benefit from the reduced taxes paid by insurance companies."