Litigation

An unlicensed company was fined $60,000 for transacting insurance in California without a proper license.

Selling insurance in California without a proper license is illegal,? Commissioner Steve Poizner was quoted in the Insurance Broadcast. ?Consumers should not give an insurance agent, broker or company a dime before verifying their license status with the Department of Insurance. This settlement is a reminder to any business attempting to compete in California – play by the rules or you will pay.?

Commissioner Poizner urges all consumers to verify the license status of any agent, broker or insurance company before doing business with them.

The complex nature of structured settlement transactions raises interesting questions. One or more of the following may come into play:

• Plaintiff' state of residence (consider that there may be more than one plaintiff and they may reside in different states)
• State where litigation is pending
• State where plaintiff attorney is located
• State where guardian is located
• State where insurance adjuster is located
• State where defense attorney is located
• State where qualified assignee is located if assigned
• State where defendant pr insurer is  located, if unassigned.

It's generally a good idea to possess an active license in any state where you solicit business. Several years ago a California structured settlement broker was heavily fined for operating without an insurance license.

Then you have the factoring industry many of whom falsely advertise that they can deliver structured settlement quotes and most of whom have no insurance licenses.