Georgia is a great state for professional practice in many different fields, including insurance practice. Georgia's major metropolitan areas, strong and diverse economy, many large and small businesses, and substantial residential properties all support thriving insurance sales. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners ranks Georgia just within or near the top ten of states nationally for homeowners, automobile, marine, property and casualty, life, accident, health, and total premiums. But you cannot continue your Georgia insurance practice if you lose your license to the Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance disciplinary charges.
Retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team for your best disciplinary outcome to Georgia insurance license disciplinary charges. Our skilled and experienced attorneys are available in Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Savannah, South Fulton, Macon, Athens, Sandy Springs, Roswell, Johns Creek, Warner Robins, Johns Creek, Alpharetta, Albany, Marietta, Stonecrest, Brookhaven, and all other Georgia locations. Call 888.535.3686 or complete this contact form now for our strategic and effective representation to preserve and protect your Georgia insurance license and practice. Consider below how we can help you defend and defeat your disciplinary charges.
Georgia Insurance Commissioner License Authority
Georgia Code Section 33-23-4 declares that no individual may engage in insurance business in the state without a valid Office of the Commissioner of Insurance license. Georgia Code Section 33-23-11 authorizes the Commissioner to issue a license to a qualified insurance broker, agent, or adjuster. Georgia Code Section 33-23-21 further authorizes the Commissioner to deny, suspend, or revoke a license on the specified disciplinary grounds. For enforcement of discipline, Georgia Code Section 33-23-41 authorizes the Commissioner to impose a civil penalty against an unlicensed individual or individual with a suspended or revoked license engaging in insurance transactions, in the amount of the premiums charged and to refer the individual to local authorities for prosecution. You must not engage in insurance practice in Georgia if you lose your license to disciplinary charges. Losing your license means discontinuing your insurance business with all attendant loss of income and reputation. Let us help you defend your disciplinary charges.
Georgia Discipline Multistate Licensure Issues
Your risk of Georgia insurance license disciplinary charges extends beyond the State of Georgia. State insurance laws routinely include license discipline in another state or jurisdiction as grounds for denial or discipline of a license within the state. If you suffer Georgia insurance license discipline, that discipline could lead to the denial of a new insurance license in other states, the refusal to renew an existing license in another state, or the discipline of that other state license. In other words, the impacts of Georgia insurance license discipline are potentially national in scope, not just limited to Georgia insurance practice. That multistate impact is all the greater reason to retain us to defend your Georgia disciplinary charges.
Georgia Insurance Professional Misconduct
Insurance brokers, agents, and adjusters are generally no more or less honest, capable, or committed than professionals in other fields. All professionals generally understand the substantial public and private interest in their competence and good character. But all professions have their few bad actors, and all professions have good professionals who make rare or occasional bad errors. Those maxims are no less true for insurance professionals, which is why state legislatures adopt insurance laws regulating insurance professionals. The Insurance Producers Model Act, which many of those state insurance codes adopt, lists the following common types of insurance producer misconduct subject to insurance commissioner discipline:
- fraudulent statements in the license application or intentionally misleading omissions from the application;
- violation of insurance laws, standards, or regulations, or disobeying insurance commissioner orders or subpoenas;
- misappropriating, diverting, or converting customer funds or property for personal gain;
- misrepresenting the terms, conditions, or coverages of insurance contracts or making false insurance applications;
- conviction of felony crimes related or unrelated to insurance practice;
- unfair trade practices or fraud in insurance transactions;
- incompetent, untrustworthy, financially irresponsible, or dishonest insurance practices;
- another state's denial, suspension, or revocation of an insurance license;
- forged signatures on insurance applications or other transaction documents;
- cheating on insurance license exams, such as using unauthorized materials or devices;
- engaging in insurance business with unlicensed individuals; and
- failure to pay child support or state income taxes.
Georgia Insurance Commissioner Disciplinary Grounds
Georgia disciplinary officials from the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance may not make up their own disciplinary charges. They must instead specify disciplinary charges from among the disciplinary grounds that Georgia's insurance laws authorize. The authority of disciplinary officials arises from the insurance statutes and regulations, not from their own office or judgment. Our attorneys can review your disciplinary charges to ensure that the grounds on which they depend are among the grounds that Georgia's insurance laws authorize for discipline.
As indicated briefly above, Georgia Code Section 33-23-21 specifies the disciplinary grounds that the Commissioner may invoke to deny, suspend, or revoke a license. Comparing Section 33-23-1's long list of disciplinary grounds to the Insurance Producers Model Act grounds listed above shows that Georgia authorizes discipline for all of the Model Act grounds plus these several additional grounds:
- failing to pass an insurance licensing exam or cheating to pass the exam;
- holding a license solely to secure rebates or commissions or to control business rather than for the purpose of engaging in legitimate insurance practices
- knowingly participating in the substantial over-insurance of any property insurance risk; and
- failing to report criminal prosecution to the commissioner within thirty days of arrest.
Defenses to Georgia Insurance Commissioner Charges
We are ready, willing, and able to help you defend any of the above disciplinary charges brought by the Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance. Do not assume that charges mean sanctions. Charges are merely accusations or allegations. Charges may include pure speculation, guess, and conjecture, without supporting evidence, based on complaining witnesses who misunderstood the circumstances or lack a factual basis for their allegations. Some charges may even be fishing expeditions, trying to draw out your own unguarded admissions to wrongdoing for which the disciplinary officials have no other evidence. When you retain us to answer and defend Georgia Office of the Commissioner disciplinary charges, we may be able to raise any one or more of the following defenses:
- you did not commit the alleged wrongs, about which you have no other knowledge or information;
- the complaining witness has mistakenly or purposely misidentified you for wrongs others committed;
- the charges unfairly misconstrue your intentions and inaccurately misinterpret your actions in the disputed transaction;
- the complaining consumer has made false and retaliatory allegations for adverse outcomes for which you were not responsible;
- the complaining competitor's false allegations are an attempt to destroy your reputation and steal your insurance practice;
- you acted on the reasonable advice and direction of your supervisor, partner, employer, or legal representative as to the applicable rules and standards;
- your actions were customary among insurance professionals in the field under your same or similar circumstances;
- your actions did not cause any consumer or other loss or create any substantial risk of loss;
- you acted under extraordinary unforeseeable circumstances unlikely to arise again; and
- you have a long and unblemished record of sound, lawful, and fruitful insurance practice.
Georgia Insurance Consumer Complaints
Georgia Insurance Code Section 33-23-22 authorizes the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance to investigate and act on complaints regarding a licensed insurance producer to impose discipline after a hearing. The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance carries that disciplinary authority into effect by maintaining an online system for consumer complaints. Anyone may complain against your license but expect most complaints to come from consumers, clients, or customers with whom you have dealt in the insurance business that did not produce the expected result. Competitors may be another common complaint source, while the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance will also monitor media, court filings, and disciplinary databases.
Responding to the Insurance Commissioner's Investigation
If you retain us as soon as you learn of a customer, client, or competitor concern, we may be able to head off a formal complaint to the Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance officials. Our attorneys can help you document your lawful actions and present your explanation and documentation to the concerned party, with the goal of assuring them of the lawfulness of your conduct. If instead, the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance has already assigned an investigator after a formal complaint, let us help you answer the investigator's information, interview, and documentation request to ensure your response is accurate, complete, and truthful. The investigator may otherwise misconstrue your inaccurate or incomplete responses as attempts to obstruct the investigation, resulting in an obstruction disciplinary charge.
Georgia Insurance Commissioner Procedures
Georgia Insurance Code Section 33-23-22 refers to the notice and hearing procedures the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance must follow before imposing discipline to satisfy your constitutional right to due process. Section 33-23-22 incorporates other administrative protections found in Chapter 2 of the same title. Those protections ensure that you have fair notice of the charges and a formal hearing on the charges if you request one. The following sections address how we can invoke those procedures for your best defense.
Our Role Defending Georgia Insurance Commissioner Charges
Consider here the actions we can take to promote your defense of the Georgia Office of the Commissioner's disciplinary charges. We will notify the disciplinary officials that you have retained us for your defense. Our notice alerts disciplinary officials to your intention to invoke all protective rights and procedures. Our notice further enables us to communicate, advocate, and negotiate with those officials in a proactive manner toward early voluntary and favorable resolution of your disciplinary charges. We don't have to wait for the formal hearing. We may be able to present your defense evidence informally or in an arranged conciliation conference to convince officials that the charges are without merit or unnecessary. We know the remedial measures disciplinary officials are most likely to accept, depending on the charges and circumstances.
Our Role At and After the Formal Hearing
If instead, your matter proceeds to a formal hearing, we can ensure effective preparation for the hearing by, among other things, gaining a pre-hearing exchange of evidence and briefing the legal issues for the hearing officer. We can then attend the formal hearing to present your defense testimony, witnesses, and documentary evidence while challenging adverse witnesses and other incriminating evidence. We can also obtain subpoenas to ensure the attendance of your witnesses and can cross-examine adverse witnesses to test their memory and credibility. If you have already lost your formal hearing, we can file and pursue available administrative appeals and, if necessary, seek civil court review and reversal of administrative errors.
Georgia Insurance Commissioner Discipline
Georgia Insurance Code Section 33-23-22 expressly authorizes the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance to suspend or revoke a license on the listed disciplinary grounds. However, the Commissioner's disciplinary officials have significantly broader authority to impose lesser discipline, accept remedial measures, or forgo discipline entirely in appropriate cases. We can present your best case in mitigation of sanctions, including your offer to satisfy official concerns with remedial education or training, evaluation and counseling, or mentoring and supervision as necessary. Your goal should be to avoid disciplinary sanctions, which may require other reasonably convenient remedial measures.
Premier Insurance License Defense Attorneys
Unqualified local criminal defense counsel or other unqualified representation may do more harm than good. By contrast, our administrative license defense skills, experience, reputation, and relationships gain the confidence and trust of disciplinary officials. If you face the Georgia Office of the Commissioner of Insurance license discipline, you can do no better than to retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team. We help hundreds of insurance brokers, agents, adjusters, and other professionals across Georgia and nationwide to defend against disciplinary charges. Call 888.535.3686 or complete this contact form now for the help you need to preserve and protect your Georgia insurance license and practice.
