California Department of Insurance License Defense Attorney
The attorneys at Century Law Group are well-versed in professional licensing matters concerning insurance agents/brokers. Our team of legal experts applies years of administrative law and professional licensing experience to their aggressive representation of Insurance Professionals. We assist in defending and obtaining licenses from the California Department of Insurance. We understand that defending your license means defending your livelihood.
The threat of license revocation or suspension is not to be taken lightly. If allegations have been made against you of committing violations of the California Insurance Code or crimes of moral turpitude, it is imperative to retain a seasoned defense lawyer immediately. Contact our offices for a free initial consultation 866-522-2642 today.
Types of Violations Investigated by the CA Department of Insurance Include:
- Premium Theft – Identified by the Investigation Division staff as the single most prevalent type of misconduct seen in the insurer producer area. Instances can range from a single theft of minimal amounts to multi-million dollar scams perpetrated on the public and the insurance industry.
- Life & Health Senior Citizen Abuse – Particular agents and insurers concentrate their marketing efforts on senior citizens. Certain agents and insurers abuse the senior citizen customer by over selling, misrepresentation and selling unneeded or even inappropriate insurance products to them. At times the misconduct is criminal, involving theft, false documents and confidence games.
- Insurance Company Deceptive Fraudulent Acts – Insurers may fail to properly monitor and control their sales forces, in part because they are seen as independent contractors. The failure in extreme cases may involve ignoring complaints and other evidence of sales force misconduct or even training and encouraging misconduct.
- Bogus/Unauthorized Insurance Companies – A type of scheme that runs the gamut of illegally collecting premiums to selling falsified paper that appears to be an insurance policy. This includes everything from fraudulent insurance identification cards sold in DMV parking lots to fully-operational offshore insurance companies issuing policies they have no intention of honoring.
- Public Adjuster Violations – Public Adjusters represent the interest of insurers who have suffered a claims loss. In some cases, both licensed and unlicensed individuals have further harmed their clients (after the initial loss) by engaging in unlawful activities, such as a charging exorbitant fees and providing unlicensed contractors who either do faulty workmanship or exit the job leaving repairs incomplete. Some of the most egregious violations occur when Public Adjusters solicits clients during disasters, while the loss is occurring (i.e.: wildfires, earthquakes, etc).
- Title Company Rebate Activity – These cases involve title insurance rebating and kickbacks to those in the real estate industry which prevent the competition of purchasing title insurance coverage for home purchases and home refinances. The main violation seen in this area involves title company employees providing goods and services as an inducement to those in positions to assure to them, the placement or referral of title business.
- Bail Industry Misconduct – Bail Agents are unique in the insurance field, in their personal control of arrestees released to them, acting as “a jailor of the arrestees own choosing.” They control the essential components of the insurance company claim settlement under the bail collateral system. Their conduct can easily affect an insurer’s finances adversely and, of course, theft and personal integrity issues affecting a bail agent are highly serious to all concerned. The violations seen most in the bail arena are the failure to return collateral and unlicensed activity. (Source: www.insurance.ca.gov)
Representing Insurance Licensees In California
The California Department of Insurance (DOI) regulates insurance professionals and companies throughout the state to ensure a fair and open marketplace.
At Century Law Group, LLP, we assist insurance professionals with all aspects of professional licensing. This includes representation and advice on license admission or reinstatement procedures, as well as aggressive defense against DOI investigations or audits due to alleged violations of the California Insurance Code or crimes of moral turpitude. Our insurance defense team has more than 50 years of combined experience representing licensed insurance professionals, experience that we will put to work for you.
Aggressive Defense For Insurance Professionals In Los Angeles, San Francisco And Statewide
If you or your company has received notice of investigation by the DOI, our experienced insurance defense attorneys can assist you in drafting responses that are both in compliance and in your best interests. By acting decisively upfront, we seek to minimize the need for further investigation. We defend insurance licensees accused of:
- Insurance theft — One of the most common forms of insurance fraud the DOI investigates, theft could include relatively minor theft of minimal amounts to multimillion-dollar scams.
- Elder abuse and exploitation — Including allegations of over-selling, misrepresentation, “selling away,” and selling unnecessary or inappropriate insurance products to senior citizens.
- Using deceptive practices or fraud — Insurance sales consultants who deliberately use deceptive or misleading tactics to attract customers. Gross violations may include ignoring customer complaints or even encouraging such tactics during training.
- Fraudulent or unauthorized insurance companies — Companies who illegally collect premiums for policies that essentially do not exist, or that the company has no intention of honoring.
- Public adjuster violations — Violations committed by public adjusters on behalf of insurers, including engaging in illegal activities such as overcharging, providing unlicensed contractors and soliciting clients while natural disasters are occurring.
- Title insurance rebate fraud and kickbacks — Fraud committed by some title insurance companies involving kickbacks to those who can assure the placement or referral of title business.
- Bail insurance misconduct — Unique to the insurance industry, some licensed bail agents may engage in conduct which adversely affects an insurer’s claim settlement under the bail collateral system such as failing to return collateral or engaging in unlicensed activity.
Should the investigation proceed and result in adverse actions, whether by the DOI or civil litigation, our lawyers, who are well-versed in professional licensing administrative proceedings as well as in California state and federal courts, will aggressively represent clients in negotiation, arbitration or litigation.
Arrange A Consultation With Century Law Group, LLP
Century Law Group, LLP, represents a wide variety of licensed professionals in the defense of their professional rights and reputation. To discuss your legal concerns with our experienced attorneys for DOI representation, contact our firm to schedule a free, 20-minute consultation.
You can also call our Los Angeles, San Diego or Northern California office at 800-465-4192. We offer competitive rates and flexible payment options.
