✦ An independent civic guideResearch edition
★Puerto RicoGovernment explained
SearchES
☰
Home/Institutions

Institutions

Office of the Commissioner of Insurance

The state-level insurance regulator: it supervises insurers and other participants, examines their financial condition, and investigates possible violations of insurance rules. Its areas handle property, life, health, and market-conduct matters. It is distinct from the company that issues a policy and processes a claim payment.

Arts. 2.030, 2.110 ↗Art. 2.110 ↗Service areas ↗Sections II–VI ↗ · Sources consulted:

Oficina del Comisionado de Seguros · Office of the Commissioner of Insurance · OCS

OCSState-levelActive

Spanish legal name: Oficina del Comisionado de Seguros. Spanish legal names are retained. Some English names are functional translations.

Official websiteThe mapPractice
Government level
State-level
Branch or grouping
Independent bodies
Type
Office
Sources consulted
Oct 18, 2026

What it does

  • Administers insurer authorization and supervises participants subject to the Code. Authorization involves requirements such as capital, classes of insurance, and eligibility; it is not a recommendation of a particular policy to a consumer.Arts. 3.020–3.030 ↗Art. 3.030 ↗ · Sources consulted:
  • Examines authorized insurers’ operations, accounts, records, and capital to supervise their financial condition. It may accept another regulator’s examination in circumstances provided by the Code; cooperation does not eliminate its own responsibilities.Art. 2.110 ↗ · Sources consulted:
  • Investigates possible violations, adjudicates disputes about violations of the Code or its rules, and can impose administrative sanctions. Its consumer form distinguishes policy, premium, sales, and claim issues and asks whom the applicant wants investigated.Art. 2.030(12)–(17) ↗Sections III, VI ↗Section VI ↗ · Sources consulted:
  • Must publish rules and regulatory communications and report on the industry. It also orders an annual external audit of the office’s own funds, available to the public: supervising insurers and accounting for its own funds are different duties.Art. 2.040(2)–(3), (6) ↗ · Sources consulted:

In everyday life

If you question the handling of a property-policy claim, keep the claim number and communications with the insurer. OCS’s official investigation service offers online filing and a printed form. The request lets you explain the problem, identify the regulated party, and ask for a remedy; it does not decide in advance whether the policy covers the loss.Filing channels ↗Sections V–VIII; reminder ↗Section VIII; reminder ↗ · Sources consulted:

Budget & finance ↗

How to distinguish it from other institutions

An investigation request to OCS is different from a claim submitted to an insurer. The form asks whether a claim was made to the company and requests the policy or declarations, communications, and other relevant documents, or an explanation of their absence. Deciding a remedy requires assessing the facts and applicable authority.Sections V, VIII; document reminder ↗Section VIII; reminder ↗ · Sources consulted:

OCS regulates insurance; OCIF supervises other financial activities under its statutes. A dispute involving a bank or cooperative may also have an insurance aspect, so identify the policy, participant, and conduct at issue. OCS’s own form distinguishes actions by people or businesses it does not regulate.Section VI, note 3 ↗Insurance-sector exclusion ↗ · Sources consulted:

Official services and information

Confirm requirements, forms, and schedules on the linked official portal.

Where it fits

Map groupings support navigation; they do not themselves establish reporting authority.

Legal basis

The Insurance Code, Act 77-1957, establishes the commissioner’s office and powers. Act 133-2002 separated the office from Hacienda and deemed inconsistent portions of Plan 3-1994 amended. Current article 2.010 retains direct accountability to the governor: Hacienda’s old component list does not describe this present relationship.Art. 2.010 ↗Section 1; printed pp. 538–539 ↗Section 7; printed p. 541 ↗ · Sources consulted:

The enabling reference is a reading aid. Consult applicable texts and amendments in official sources; directory cards can retain older references.

Leadership & appointments

Commissioner of Insurance

The governor appoints the commissioner with Senate advice and consent. The Senate register records Suzette Del Valle Lecároz’s nomination submission on August 15, 2025 and approval on November 3, 2025; the report of that session also records her confirmation. She signs the May 8, 2026 ruling letter as commissioner. Senate submission is different from executive appointment; the appointment date and a term end remain unverified.Art. 2.010 ↗Commissioner’s signature ↗Office row; submission, status, and last action ↗Plenary confirmation of executive nominations ↗ · Sources consulted:

Suzette Del Valle Lecároz

Sources consulted: Oct 18, 2026 · Sources & method ↓

Appointment
Verification pending
Confirmation
Nov 3, 2025
Term end
Verification pending

Governance & composition

Leadership belongs to the commissioner rather than a corporate board. Article 2.070 provides a five-member Advisory Committee chosen by the commissioner: property, life, health, and two public-interest representatives, for as long as the commissioner considers necessary. The Committee has no administrative or management powers. Its current membership is unverified. Separately, the commissioner holds a seat on the Financial Board.Art. 2.070 ↗Art. 8(a)–(b) ↗ · Sources consulted:

Sources consulted: Oct 18, 2026

Open research

A final order or decision must state the right to seek reconsideration or Court of Appeals review and the applicable time limits. An administrative investigation, reconsideration, and judicial review are different stages; the actual notice and governing regime matter when identifying the available route.Art. 2.220 ↗ · Sources consulted:

Sources & method

The consultation date is not the institution’s own update date.

  1. OCS | Oficina del Comisionado de Seguros ↗https://ocs.pr.gov/Sources consulted: Oct 17, 2026
  2. Código de Seguros — Ley 77-1957, capítulo 2 y autorización de aseguradores (compilación OGP) ↗https://bvirtualogp.pr.gov/ogp/Bvirtual/leyesreferencia/PDF/C%C3%B3digos/77-1957/77-1957.pdfSources consulted: Oct 18, 2026 · Document revised: Aug 21, 2026
  3. OCS — Directorio de áreas y servicios ↗https://www.ocs.pr.gov/sobre-la-ocs/directorioSources consulted: Oct 18, 2026
  4. OCS — Solicitud de investigación (revisión publicada de junio de 2024) ↗https://docs.pr.gov/files/OCS/consumidores/Formularios%20de%20Solicitud/Solicitud_Investigacion_Rev%2025-6-2024.pdfSources consulted: Oct 18, 2026 · Document revised: Jun 25, 2024
  5. OCIF — Historia, alcance y áreas de trabajo ↗https://ocif.pr.gov/sobre-nosotrosSources consulted: Oct 18, 2026
  6. OCS — Solicitud de investigaciones y canales de presentación ↗https://www.ocs.pr.gov/solicitud-de-investigacionesSources consulted: Oct 18, 2026
  7. Ley 133-2002 — Separación de OCS de Hacienda (Leyes de Puerto Rico, pp. 536–542) ↗https://bvirtualogp.pr.gov/ogp/Bvirtual/leyesreferencia/PDF/2/0133-2002.pdfSources consulted: Oct 18, 2026 · Published: Aug 8, 2002
  8. OCS — Carta normativa CN-2026-381-D, firmada por Suzette Del Valle Lecároz ↗https://docs.pr.gov/files/OCS/Asuntos_Legales/Cartas%20Normativas/2026/CN-2026-381-D.pdfSources consulted: Oct 18, 2026 · Published: May 8, 2026
  9. Ley 4 de 11 de octubre de 1985 — OCIF y Junta Financiera (compilación OGP) ↗https://bvirtualogp.pr.gov/ogp/Bvirtual/LeyesOrganicas/Pages/4-10-1985.pdfSources consulted: Oct 18, 2026 · Document revised: Sep 24, 2024
  10. OCS — Formularios oficiales para consumidores ↗https://www.ocs.pr.gov/consumidores/formularios-de-solicitudSources consulted: Oct 18, 2026
  11. Senado — Registro de nombramiento de Suzette Del Valle Lecároz: presentación y aprobación ↗https://senado.pr.gov/nombramientos?nombre=Del+Valle+LecSources consulted: Oct 18, 2026
  12. Senado — Sesión del 3 de noviembre de 2025: confirmación de Suzette Del Valle Lecároz ↗https://senado.pr.gov/alto-cuerpo-aprueba-medidas-sobre-justicia-contributiva-y-penal-en-puerto-ricoSources consulted: Oct 18, 2026 · Published: Nov 3, 2025
  13. Ley 72-1993 — Administración de Seguros de Salud (compilación OGP) ↗https://bvirtualogp.pr.gov/ogp/Bvirtual/LeyesOrganicas/Pages/72-1993.pdfSources consulted: Oct 18, 2026 · Document revised: Apr 21, 2025
How we verify →