Maine’s insurance regulators have slapped a $225,000 fine against Anthem Health Plans for not responding to complaints quickly enough.

Maine Insurance Superintendent Eric Cioppa said in a statement Monday that Anthem Health Plans of Maine Inc. has agreed to pay a $225,000 civil penalty as part of a consent agreement following an investigation by the Maine Bureau of Insurance into the company’s procedures for handling complaints. In addition to the civil penalty, Anthem is required to submit a corrective action plan to the bureau within 30 days of the agreement.

The bureau’s Market Conduct Unit performed a review of Anthem’s complaint handling after investigators reported several late and missing responses to complaints forwarded to Anthem by the bureau.

The exam found that the company repeatedly failed to comply with Maine law, requiring insurance companies to respond to the bureau’s consumer complaint inquiries within 14 days, according to the release. It also found that Anthem failed to accurately report some annually required data and failed to complete the exam in a timely fashion.

“We expect insurers to respond in a timely and substantive manner to issues raised by consumers,” Cioppa said in the release. “Failure to respond to the bureau’s inquiries is a serious issue, as it directly impacts our ability to assist consumers and protect their contractual and legal rights.”

Cioppa also said the bureau will be reviewing Anthem’s corrective action plan and will continue to monitor the company’s handling of complaints, to ensure that the corrective action has resolved the issue.

This story will be updated.

Comments are not available on this story.