Washington State insurance commissioner Mike Kreidler has recently cracked down on insurers, agents, and brokers operating in the region, levying fines on those who have violated state insurance regulations.
Farmers Insurance was fined $500,000 for a rate adjustment error the company had made between 2010 and 2015, with $200,000 of the fine suspended by the insurance commissioner as long as the insurer complies with the terms of the order.
Farmer’s error left more than 223,000 customers overcharged more than $11 million and over 30,000 customers undercharged for about $1.5 million. Although Farmers has begun refunding those who were overcharged since June 2015 with 8% interest, those who were undercharged have not been asked to repay.
State law forbids insurance companies to charge customers rates that differ from the ones approved by the state insurance commissioner.
Another insurance company, Safeco Insurance Co., was fined $1,500 due to yet another system error. A computer glitch caused an automobile to be automatically added to an insurance policy. Safeco was asked by the insurance commissioner to check its records for similar other cases. The company reported 21 Washington consumers were affected by the error, and were overcharged more than $3,700 as a result. The company has since repaid their customers plus 8% interest.
The insurance commissioner also fined various insurance producers for a total of $8,000:
Other insurance producers had their licenses revoked for information manipulation (Hung Vo) and fraud (Heidi Batie), and in the case of one company (Integrity Health Essentials, Inc.) an order to cease and desist was given, as the company was operating without an insurance producer license.
