ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Seven Examples Of Insurance Agent Fraud And Financial Elder Abuse
Victims Include Many Seniors
Protecting Older Loved Ones From Insurance Agent Fraud
Insurance agents and brokers serve as trusted advisors to their clients, ensuring that policyholders are adequately protected in the event of a loss. However, on some occasions, unscrupulous agents abuse their profession for personal gain especially targeting older consumers. Agents may exploit older consumers by selling them expensive and unsuitable insurance products, making unauthorized exchanges of policies, falsifying applications to qualify seniors for policies for which they are ineligible, or simply pocket a senior’s premiums and never issue any policy. When the victim is a senior, this kind of insurance fraud also constitutes elder abuse. See Penal Code § 368 and Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15610.30. Evans Law Firm, Inc. represents injured seniors and their families here in San Francisco, throughout the Bay Area or anywhere else in California against any insurance agents or brokers, financial advisors and others who prey upon seniors. We can be reached at (415)441-8669. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267).
Examples of Recent Insurance Agent Fraud
Here are seven examples of insurance fraud cases[1] that have occurred just in the first six months of 2021:
- A former insurance agent was sentenced after pleading guilty to submitting false applications for older customers for additional insurance coverages without their knowledge and pocketing commissions of $86,000 from premiums the customers believed were for their existing coverages.
- An agent transferred $17,797 of paid premiums into his personal banking account and used the money to buy college sports tickets, pay bills and cover personal expenses.
- An agent was sentenced for embezzlement of $59,113 from various clients, mostly elders.
- After being stripped of insurance license for prior fraud, an individual was sentencing for subsequently stealing more than $38,000 in property insurance premium payments.
- An agent allegedly added himself as beneficiary on 14 life insurance policies held by older customers.
- An agent created false certificates of auto insurance and pocketed the $25,000 in paid premiums from unwitting consumers
- An agent altered customer premium payment schedules and used amounts for unauthorized business and personal expenses
Steps To Prevent Financial Elder Abuse
In several of these cases, the agent had a prior record of dishonesty or even had had their insurance license revoked. Before you transact any business with an insurance agent, check out the status of their insurance license on the California Department of Insurances license search tab. If the Department has issued any citations or taken any disciplinary actions against the agent you will see them there. If you are family members of a senior, stay involved in their business and financial affairs so you can help them avoid exploitation and fraud. A family may be able to catch financial elder abuse before it occurs by accompanying the senior at any business meetings and reviewing any paperwork before a senior is sold something worthless. Review a senior’s bank records routinely. This includes all records for all accounts including for savings and checking accounts, credit cards, investments accounts, loans and the like.
Contact Us
Ingrid M. Evans and Evans Law Firm, Inc. pursue all available remedies for the elderly victim against those persons or businesses responsible for their abuse, including getting their money back, undoing illegal contracts and getting awards of attorneys’ fees and expenses for the costs of bringing suit. Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 15657.5. Ingrid represents seniors in San Francisco and throughout California who are victims of financial elder abuse or fraud, including by insurance agents. Ingrid can be reached at (415) 441-8669, or by email at info@evanslaw.com. Our toll-free number is 1-888-50EVANS (888-503-8267).
[1] Evans Law Firm, Inc. was not involved in any of these reported cases.
