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Regulatory Actions for May 1998

Legal Action - Agents

• Able Auto Insurance Agency, St. Louis, MO, license revoked for failure to respond to an administrative complaint.
• Affordable Auto, Inc., St. Louis, MO, license revoked for failure to respond to an administrative complaint.
• Joseph Baumeister, Crestwood, MO, license revoked for committing unfair trade practices, deception, forgery, acting as an insurance broker without a license, conviction of a felony and crime involving moral turpitude, and demonstrating both untrustworthiness and incompetence. Encore Benefits Design, Inc. and TempTech Associates, Inc. are both subject to discipline because Baumeister was an officer and owner of both Encore and TempTech at all times.
• Encore Benefits Design, Inc., St. Louis, MO, license revoked for committing unfair trade practices, deception, forgery, acting as an insurance broker without a license, conviction of a felony and crime involving moral turpitude, and demonstrating both untrustworthiness and incompetence.
• Stuart E. Gressley, Sedalia, MO, $400 forfeiture for allowing an incorrect weight on the application, listing an incorrect premium amount, an incorrect effective date and allowing other agents to complete an application.
• Edward Johnson, St. Louis, MO, license revoked for failure to notify the department with change of address and failure to respond to an administrative complaint.
• Stacy Krokroskia, Baxter Springs, KS, license revoked for committing deception and forgery, unfair trade practices, violating a duly issued subpoena, demonstrating both untrustworthiness and incompetence, and having an insurance license revoked by another state.
• Tamela L. Motsinger, Maryland Heights, MO, $200 forfeiture for signing an application that was taken by another agent and providing false information to the director.
• Monty R. Murphy, Sedalia, MO, $100 forfeiture for misstatement on an application.
• Nicole L. Phillips, Willimasville, MO, $1,000 forfeiture for demonstrating lack of trustworthiness, competence and practicing deception.
• Michael G. Salmons, Columbia, MO, $100 forfeiture for failing to complete an application correctly, resulting in the company not issuing a notice of replacement.
• Samuel L. Swanson, St. Louis, MO, license revoked for failure to notify the department with change of address and for failure to respond to an administrative complaint.
• TempTech Associates, Inc., St. Louis, MO, license revoked for committing unfair trade practices, deception, forgery, acting as an insurance broker without a license, conviction of a felony and crime involving moral turpitude, and demonstrating both untrustworthiness and incompetence.
• Patricia A. Williams, Cole Camp, MO, $200 forfeiture for assisting in completing an application that another agent signed as producer; and assisting in completing an application while not being appointed with Connecticut National.

Legal Action - Companies

• Allstate Insurance Co., Northbrook, IL, $100 forfeiture for failure to respond to a complaint.
• Auto Club Family Insurance Co., St. Louis, MO, $1,000 forfeiture for filing faulty statistical data.
• Automobile Club Inter-Insurance Exchange, St. Louis, MO, $1,000 forfeiture for filing faulty statistical data.
• Business Mens Assurance Co. of America, Kansas City, MO, $100 forfeiture for failure to respond to a complaint.
• Continental Casualty Co., Chicago, IL, $100 forfeiture for failure to respond to a complaint.
• Farm Bureau Town & Country of Missouri, Jefferson City, MO, $1,000 forfeiture for filing faulty statistical data.
• Hanover Insurance Co., Bedford, NH, $100 forfeiture for failure to respond to a complaint.
• Healthnet Inc., Kansas City, MO, $100 forfeiture for falure to respond to a complaint.
• Healthy Alliance Life Insurance Co., St. Louis, MO, $100 forfeiture for failure to respond to a complaint.
• Montgomery Ward Life Insurance Co., Schaumburg, IL, $100 forfeiture for failure to respond to a complaint.
• Pioneer Life Insurance Co., Schaumburg, IL, $100 forfeiture for failure to respond to a complaint.
• Traders Insurance Co., Kansas City, MO, $1,000 forfeiture for filing faulty statistical data.

Financial Exams

• American National General Insurance Co., Springfield, MO
• American National Property & Casualty Insurance Co., Springfield, MO
• Safety National Casualty Insurance Co., St. Louis, MO

Company Changes

• American Pyrotechnics Purchasing Group, Washington DC, added United National Insurance Co. as an additional carrier.
• Bollinger Fowler Co., Short Hills, NJ, was admitted as a third party administrator.
• Century Medical Purchasing Group, Durham, NC, was registered as a purchasing group.
• Colonia Underwriters Insurance Co., Fort Smith, AR, changed its name to AXA Global Risks US Underwriters Insurance Co.
• Colonial Insurance Co. of California, Wausau, WI, redomesticated from California to Wisconsin and changed its name to Colonial Insurance Co. of Wisconsin.
• Chiropractic USA Purchasing Group, Pasadena, CA, was registered as a purchasing group.
• Community Associations Purchasing Group, West Hartford, CT, was registered as a purchasing group.
• Everest Reinsurance Co., Liberty, NJ, added accident, health and miscellaneous authority.
• Infinity Insurance Co., Indianapolis, IN, redomesticated from Florida to Indiana.
• ITT Hartford Life and Annuity Insurance Co., Hartford, CT, changed its name to Hartford Life and Annuity Insurance Co.
• Lenders Insurance Trust, Santa Barbara, CA, was registered as a purchasing group.
• Lincoln National Reassurance Co., Fort Wayne, IN, added life, annuity and endowment authority.
• Long Term Care Group, Inc., El Segundo, CA, was admitted as a third party administrator.
• Managed Access Risk Corp., Phoenix, AZ, withdrew as a third party administrator.
• MarkVII Transportation, Memphis, TN, withdrew as a third party administrator.
• Member Service Life Co. dba Member Service Administrators Inc., Tulsa, OK, withdrew as a third party administrator.
• National Counselors Professional Liability Purchasing Group, Pasadena, CA, was registered as a purchasing group.
• Network America Life Insurance Co., Allentown, PA, changed its name to Penn Treaty Network America Insurance Co.
• Nonprofit Liability Insurance Purchasing Group, Elmhurst, IL, was registered as a purchasing group.
• Odssey Re (London), New York, NY, was registered as a purchasing group.
• Physicians Protective Insurance Risk Purchasing Group, Bedford Hills, NY, was registered as a purchasing group.
• Preferred Risk Life Insurance Co., West Des Moines, IA changed its name to Guidant Life Insurance Co.
• Preferred Risk Mutual Insurance Co., West Des Moines, IA changed its name to Guidant Insurance Co.
• RE-liability Purchasing Group Inc., Norristown, PA, was registered as a purchasing group.
• Student Insurance Administrative Services, Inc., Berwyn, PA, withdrew as a third party administrator.
• The Centennial Life Insurance Co., Lenexa, KS, certificate of authority was suspended.
• The Standard of America Life Insurance Co., Milwaukee, WI, changed its name to Northwestern Long Term Care Insurance Co.
• Universal Service contract Liability Purchasing Group, Omaha, NE, withdrew as a third party administrator.
• Westport Management Services, Inc., Westport, CT, was admitted as a third party administrator.

Market Conduct Exams

• American General Life Insurance Co. has been ordered to, within 30 days: notify the director of an appointment or termination of an agent; cease using any policies, forms or applications not previously submitted to the department for review and approval and cease using and accepting any application that asks whether or not another insurer has refused to issue a policy, or has canceled or refused to renew an existing policy.
• Empire Fire and Marine Insurance Co. has been ordered to, within 30 days: notify the director of the appointment or termination of an agent; prevent the payment of commissions to a broker or agency without first ensuring that a copy of their current license is on file; ensure that procedures are in place allowing the company to file its rating plans with the department, that the company correctly rates its policies based upon these rating plans filed with the department, and that documentation is maintained within the company's files to support any rating plan decision; cease using any rating plan or rating system which modifies the auto insurance premium charged for uninsured motorist coverage, comprehensive coverage or fire, theft and combined additional coverages or a combination based upon any insured's driving record of violations or accidents; promptly refund any premium incorrectly charged for any previously issued personal auto policies for the last three years; ensure that applications are signed by the agent and that an alternative method of identifying the agent is used; ensure that for each policy issued a copy of the application is maintained in the policy file; cease using and accepting any application that asks whether or not the applicant has been previously canceled or nonrenewed by another carrier; ensure that all schedule debits, credits and all additional credits based on file evidence at the time the debit or credit is applied, terms should be sufficiently clear and specific, a copy of the written notice to the insured should be contained in the file for not less than 3 years; ensure that it produces records in response to the requests of the examiners during a market conduct exam; ensure that canceling or nonrenewing a private passenger auto policy only occurs on the anniversary date of the policy; ensure that a copy of the nonrenewal notice for a commercial auto policy is maintained in the policy file, that the reason for nonrenewal is clear and specific, and that the notice shall be delivered to the insured at least sixty days prior to the effective date of the cancellation.
• General Accident Group, General Accident Insurance Co. of America, Camden Fire Insurance Association, Pennsylvania General, Potomac Insurance Co. of Illinois, Midwestern Insurance Co., Tri State Insurance Co., and Farmers and Merchants have been ordered to, within 30 days: have procedures in place to ensure that all applications are signed by the agent, and that all applications contain an alternative method of identifying the agent; cease using and accepting any application for any line of coverage that asks whether or not the applicant has been previously canceled or nonrenewed by another carrier; ensure that the notice of termination for a homeowners policy states the insurer's actual reason for proposing the action, the statement is sufficiently clear and states the insured may be eligible for insurance through the Missouri basic property insurance inspection and placement program; ensure that the notice of nonrenewal for a homeowners policy states the insurer's actual reason for proposing the action, the statement is sufficiently clear and specific, states the insured may be eligible for insurance through the Missouri basic property insurance inspection and placement program; ensure that when renewing a private passenger auto policy that General Accident will send a written notice of renewal at least fifteen days prior to the effective date of the new policy; correctly rate its private passenger auto policies based upon correct and accurate territory codes as should be contained in the company's rating plans filed with the department; ensure that all complaints received by General Accident are properly logged in the company's complaint register; ensure that General Accident exercises reasonable and necessary due diligence when attempting to ascertain the whereabouts of property owners prior to filing an unclaimed property report; and ensure that its underwriting guidelines for homeowners coverage do not make or permit any unfair discrimination between individuals or risks of the same class and of essentially the same hazards by refusing to issue, renew, cancel or limit the amount of insurance coverage on a residential property risk, or the personal property contained therein, because of the age of the residential property.
• J.C. Penney Life Insurance Co. has been ordered to, within 30 days: have procedures in place to ensure that all advertisements for policies of life insurance whether group, individual or any other form, correctly represent the requirement in that suicide is no defense to payment of life insurance benefits nor is suicide while insane a defense to payment of accidental death benefits; modify the language in all advertisements that incorrectly represent that attempted suicide is not a covered benefit; ensure that the following notice is clearly imprinted by stamp or otherwise over the face of any nonconforming suicide clause contained in the body of any policy, rider or certificate; cease using and accepting any application that asks if the applicant has been previously canceled or nonrenewed by another carrier and ensure that it responds to the requests and criticisms of the examiners during a market conduct exam.
• The Franklin Life Insurance Co. has been ordered to, within 90 days: remove the question asking if an insurer has declined, rated or postponed to issue applicants a policy of insurance from all application documents and or the inspection data entry forms used in Missouri; file a copy of the inspection data entry forms used in the state of Missouri for approval and provide the premium refund of $131.26 for policy number 5802264.
• Universal Underwriters Insurance Co. has been ordered to, within 30 days: cease using and accepting any application that asks whether or not the applicant has been previously canceled or nonrenewed by another carrier; ensure that all schedule debits and credits and all additional credits based on reduction of expenses are based on evidence contained in the file of the insurer at the time the debit or credit is applied and a notice should remain in the insureds file for not less than 3 years; ensure that procedures are established and/or maintained to allow the company to correctly rate its policies based upon the rating plans filed with the department, and based upon documentation maintained in its underwriting and rating files to support the loss costs/credits/rates applied to a policy; that a correct territory is used for rating the policy; and that a correct protection class code is used for rating the policy and establish and/or maintain procedures so as to correctly charge its policyholders the assessment amount associated with the Missouri Second Injury Fund.