Kansas is a great place for insurance professionals. Its wide-open plains, endless acres of farmland, and busy cities like Wichita, Overland Park, Kansas City, Topeka, and Olathe create plenty of opportunities. There's a steady need for property, farm, health, crop, and life insurance. Property and casualty insurers stay busy because of the state's diverse economy and frequent weather risks.
If you want to keep working in Kansas's reward insurance industry, your career depends on one key piece: your Kansas insurance license. If the Department of Insurance comes after you with disciplinary charges, that license and your whole livelihood could be at stake. All it could take to start an investigation is a single complaint.
Hiring the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team gives you a strong edge against the allegations. Our team knows the Kansas insurance law inside and out. Whether you're in the fast-moving metro areas of Wichita and Kansas City or smaller spots like Salina, you can do no better than to retain the Lento Law Firm. Give us a call at 888.535.3686 or fill out our online contact form.
The Department of Insurance and the Commissioner's Powers
Kansas law gives the Department of Insurance (“DOI”) almost complete control over insurance professionals, whether they be agents, adjusters, producers, or other professionals. The DOI licenses, regulates, and disciplines those working in the insurance field. The Commissioner is the chief officer of the DOI and is in charge of administrating all of Kansas's expansive insurance law.
The Insurance Code spells out what you need to get licensed, like passing exams and clearing background checks. It also gives the Commissioner power to investigate and discipline those suspected of unethical conduct.
The Commissioner can suspend or revoke your license, slap you with fines, or tell you to stop certain activities if you break insurance laws. Those who refuse to cooperate with The Commissioner and the DOI can be imprisoned for up to 1 year and/or be fined $10,000.
The DOI's main job is protecting Kansas consumers and keeping the insurance market stable. They take that seriously. If you are an insurance professional, knowing the rules and your responsibilities is not only key to keeping your license, but potentially your freedom as well.
Kansas Insurance Professional Misconduct
Insurance professionals in Kansas face tight oversight. The DOI jumps in fast when they think consumers or the industry's reputation might suffer. Kansas's insurance statutes give some examples of misconduct that could get you disciplined.
Some of the most common actions that get insurance professionals disciplined include:
- Violation of Insurance Laws – Violation of any Kansas insurance law or any rule or regulation created by the Department of Insurance is automatically considered misconduct. It does not matter if the violation was accidental. It does not matter if there is no victim, or if it was purely a procedural hiccup. Additionally, violating the insurance laws or regulations of another state can result in disciplinary charges as well.
- Criminal Convictions – Being convicted of a misdemeanor or felony can cost you your license. This includes convictions in other states and countries.
- Out-of-State Discipline – If your license has been suspended or revoked in another jurisdiction, including another nation, Kansas implements reciprocal discipline. However, Kansas decides what level of discipline is appropriate. If your license was only suspended in another state, the DOI might decide your Kansas license ought to be revoked.
- Failing to Respond to the DOI – The DOI requires prompt feedback to its inquiries. If you do not respond to an official letter, phone call, or e-mail that inquires into your business, the Commissioner can sanction you and your license.
- Failure to Pay Taxes and Child Support – Although not directly related to the practice of insurance, failure to pay state and federal taxes and child support could cost you your license and livelihood.
- Dishonest Behavior – The DOI can sanction insurance professionals for any “fraudulent, coercive, or dishonest” behavior that occurs in the conduct of business. This includes conduct done inside and outside of Kansas.
- Financial Irresponsibility and Incompetence – Failure to pay your employees, keep a balanced book of business, accurate logs of business deadlines, or stay out of personal debt.
- Dealing with Unlicensed Insurers – Licensed insurance professionals have an affirmative duty to not accept business from other insurance “professionals” who lack the appropriate credentials.
- Misrepresentation of Terms – Insurance professionals must accurately describe products or procedures to their customers and clients. Misrepresenting an insurance product, whether intentional or not, is grounds for discipline.
- Misrepresentation on Application – If it is determined that you gave false, inaccurate, or incomplete information on your initial licensing application, you can be disciplined years after the fact.
Many of these charges can be mitigated. For example, if the cumulative harm of a violation is very minor, the Commissioner may dismiss the violation or give an informal warning. However, if an insurance professional shows no signs of rehabilitation, misleads the Commissioner's investigators, etc., then the consequences can be enhanced. The Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team can help frame your conduct in the best light possible while steering you clear of discipline enhancements.
Nature of Kansas Insurance Department Charges
When the DOI sends you a notice that a complaint has been filed, that is just the start of the process. There is still a long road before you are sentenced to discipline. The complaint might accuse you of defrauding a customer, giving abhorrent customer service, or ignoring a formal inquiry.
The Lento Law Firm Team gets involved early, negotiating with investigators to get the lightest discipline possible. Our Professional License Defense Team has helped clients nationwide settle investigations quickly. This avoids long drawn-out investigations, hearings, and trials and keeps discipline off your formal record.
Kansas Insurance Department Investigation Process
Investigations often begin with a complaint. The complainant could be a client, a rival, or a supervisor. The DOI accepts complaints online, by fax, and by mail. This means that anyone could file a complaint and jumpstart the disciplinary process.
Once a complaint is filed, the DOI contacts the complainant to verify the details to verify that misconduct actually took place. If so, an investigator is assigned to the complaint. The investigator may ask for your records: premium logs, policy papers, emails, etc. They may also interview the complainant, you, your staff, witnesses, etc. The investigation can take weeks, sometimes even months. Ultimately, they write a report that either recommends the complaint be dismissed, the professional be informally disciplined, or for formal disciplinary proceedings to begin.
The Formal Discipline Process
When the Kansas Insurance Department (DOI) shifts from investigating to seeking formal discipline, things start becoming serious. Kansas law gives you a clear process to fight back, though. At this point, retaining the Lento Law Firm's experienced Professional License Defense Team becomes crucial. Without it, you may miss procedural deadlines or forget to bring up certain defenses.
The process begins with a formal notice from the Commissioner. The notice spells out what they're accusing you of and how you can obtain an administrative hearing. From there, you usually have 15 days to respond and 30 days to formally request a hearing.
The hearing is similar to a trial. The DOI will have their side ready, with investigators and lawyers presenting things like complaint statements or audit results. The Lento Law Firm Team steps in here, questioning their witnesses and giving persuasive arguments to the presiding officer.
The DOI has to prove its claims with enough evidence to show that you “more likely than not” committed misconduct. This means that you do not have the same presumption of innocence that you would have in a criminal trial. This is why retaining the Lento Law Firm is so important. With such a low bar required for you to be disciplined, you need the strongest defense possible. Going up against the DOI's attorneys empty-handed is rarely successful. Obtaining legal counsel gives you the best possible chance of winning your hearing.
After the hearing, the hearing officer writes up a decision that states if they believe misconduct occurred and what sanctions would be appropriate. The decision then goes to the Commissioner, or someone designated to review administrative hearing decisions. Regardless, if you don't like the decision, you can request the Commissioner to review the ruling within 15 days.
If the Commissioner ultimately rules against you, you still have options. Depending on the exact violation and statute you are sanctioned under, you can appeal to one of Kansas's district courts or to the Kansas Court of Appeals. However, determining which court has jurisdiction over your appeal and the timeline for filing your appeal are tricky procedural issues. Obtaining legal counsel is critical to properly filing an appeal. If you file it in the wrong court or after the deadline, you're often out of luck.
Consequences of Kansas Insurance Department Discipline
Formal discipline can derail your career and your life. The Commissioner has a range of options, depending on what you did, your record, and mitigating factors. Something small, like accidentally filing paperwork late, might result in an informal warning or a small fine of a few hundred dollars. But bigger issues can lead to suspensions and revocations, permanently altering the trajectory of your career.
Discipline does not stop at the Kansas borders, either. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners keeps a database that tracks these actions. Other states see it. A suspension in Kansas might make Missouri or Nebraska question your licenses there, even if you've done nothing wrong locally. For folks in places like Kansas City, working across state lines, the fallout from a complaint can quickly snowball.
Contacting the Lento Law Firm as soon as you become aware that a complaint has been filed can stop the disciplinary process in its tracks. Actions you take before it comes to formal sanctions can be the lifeline you need. The Lento Law Firm Team can work with the DOI's investigators to clear up misunderstandings and miscommunications. We can put forth a plan to help mitigate any alleged misconduct, helping you to avoid suspensions and revocation.
Multistate Licensure Implications in Kansas
Given Kansas's century location in the United States, many Kansas insurance professionals hold licenses in nearby states, such as Missouri, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. This allows them to tap into business across the region. Unfortunately, each state's license means that you have more regulators who have the jurisdiction to discipline you.
Kansas's insurance code allows discipline from another state to follow you back home. It works the other way too. If your license is suspended or revoked in Kansas, other states might do the same, pointing to Kansas's decision as proof that you're unfit to work in the insurance industry.
This happens because of interstate agreements and the NAIC's national footprint. The DOI automatically logs complaints into the NAIC's system. This means that even if a complaint is unfounded, it still might impact you in another state. By defeating the allegations early and getting the complaint dismissed, you prevent the complaint from hounding you and your career.
Our Role in Defending Kansas Insurance Disciplinary Charges
By retaining the Lento Law Firm, you ensure that a skilled team of professionals gets involved as soon as there's a hint of trouble. We work with investigators to nip the issue in the bud and can often get the complaint dismissed outright. Alternatively, we can negotiate with the DOI to quickly get a mutually acceptable outcome. This allows you to get back to practicing in the rewarding Kansas insurance industry and stop worrying about complaints, hearings, and administrative rules.
Just one complaint from an upset client is all it can take for the DOI to begin an investigation into you and your business. Don't let a miscommunication, a slip of the tongue, or a genuine mistake stop you from being able to continue as an insurance professional. Trying to answer the allegations by yourself or attend an administrative hearing alone is often a recipe for disaster. Call 888.535.3686 or contact us online to protect your practice and your reputation today.
