You made a good choice when making Ohio your home for an insurance practice. Ohio's substantial population, multiple large metropolitan centers in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Toledo, and dynamic and diverse economy all support thriving insurance practices. Not surprisingly, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners ranks Ohio in the top ten nationally for fire, aircraft, homeowners, health, and total premiums and for domestic insurance carriers. Yet, you must retain your Ohio Department of Insurance license to continue your insurance business in the state.
If you face Ohio Department of Insurance disciplinary charges threatening your insurance license and practice, retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team for your best disciplinary outcome. Our skilled and experienced attorneys are available to represent you in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo, Akron, Dayton, Parma, Canton, Lorain, Hamilton, Youngstown, Springfield, Kettering, Elyria, Cuyahoga Falls, and all other Ohio locations. Call 888.535.3686 or complete this contact form now to get our help preserving and protecting your Ohio insurance license and practice. The following discussion summarizes Ohio insurance license defense issues and procedures and how we may be able to help you defend and defeat your disciplinary charges.
Ohio Insurance Department License Authority
Section 3905.02 of the Ohio Insurance Producers Licensing Act prohibits anyone from selling, soliciting, or negotiating insurance in the state without a valid and current license from the Ohio Department of Insurance. The Act's Section 3905.99 authorizes a first degree criminal misdemeanor conviction for insurance practice in the state without the required license. Ohio punishes first degree misdemeanors with up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Department of Insurance officials may also assess civil administrative penalties against insurance professionals who continue to practice after suspension or revocation of their license. They may also seek a court injunction, violation of which exposes the unlicensed professional to contempt sanctions of fines and incarceration. Unlicensed practice while under license suspension can also prevent license reinstatement, effectively ending your Ohio insurance practice. You must discontinue your Ohio insurance practice if you lose your license to disciplinary charges. Let us help you defend those charges.
Ohio Discipline Multistate Licensure Issues
Discipline against your insurance license in Ohio can result in discipline against insurance licenses you hold in other states and jurisdictions. You could lose your insurance licenses in other states if you lose your Ohio license to disciplinary charges. You could also lose the opportunity to gain a new insurance license in another state if you lose your Ohio insurance license. Discipline in other states is routinely a ground to suspend or revoke a state insurance license. You can't run and hide from Ohio disciplinary charges. You are far better off to stand and contest the charges. We can help you do so.
Ohio Insurance Professional Misconduct
Insurance producers, including brokers, agents, and adjusters, generally work hard to comply with all insurance laws, rules, and regulations. You and other insurance professionals know that your license can be on the line when taking shortcuts, engaging in deceptive practices, or acting carelessly with respect to insurance customs and standards. But insurance professionals do at times stray from the straight and narrow. That's why state legislatures form insurance departments and empower them to regulate insurance professionals to protect the public from dishonest and unfair insurance practices. The Insurance Producers Model Act lists the following common forms of insurance producer misconduct subject to discipline:
- credential fraud in the license application information including misleading omissions from the application;
- disobeying insurance laws or regulations, or insurance commissioner orders or subpoenas;
- withholding, misappropriating, or converting customer funds or property;
- misrepresenting insurance terms or conditions or making false applications for insurance;
- felony conviction for any crime, whether related to insurance practice or not;
- insurance unfair trade practices or insurance fraud;
- dishonest, incompetent, untrustworthy, or financially irresponsible insurance practices;
- denial, suspension, or revocation of an insurance license in another state or jurisdiction;
- forging signatures on insurance applications or other transaction documents;
- unauthorized use of materials or devices on insurance license exams;
- engaging in insurance business with an unlicensed individual; and
- violating court orders for child support or failing to pay state income taxes.
Ohio Insurance Division Disciplinary Grounds
Committing the above forms of misconduct or other acts violating Ohio insurance laws, rules, and standards can lead to Ohio Department of Insurance disciplinary charges. Section 3905.14 of the Ohio Insurance Producers Licensing Act lists the grounds for discipline Department officials may allege in pursuit of your license suspension or revocation. Those grounds include each of the above forms of misconduct that the Insurance Producers Model Act describes plus another twenty or more grounds. Ohio Department of Insurance disciplinary officials cannot make up standards as they go along. They must instead specify statutory standards in their notice of disciplinary charges. However, Section 3905.14 gives disciplinary officials broad discretion to identify the widest range of potential forms of misconduct. Section 3905.14's additional grounds include such acts as:
- failing to timely submit an insurance application;
- entry of any cease and desist order relating to insurance practices;
- accepting beneficiary designation on a policy the producer sold or permitting the customer to designate the producer's family members;
- failing to timely respond to the department's request for investigation or failing to appear for an investigative interview;
- concealing from an insured other producers or entities involved in the procuring of the insurance;
- continuing to use the titles and materials of an insurer to deceive customers into transactions after the insurer has terminated the producer relationship; and
- failing to fulfill a refund obligation in a timely manner.
Defenses to Ohio Insurance Department Charges
Our attorneys can help you defend any of the above disciplinary charges. Just because you receive an Ohio Department of Insurance notice of disciplinary charges does not mean that the Department has credible evidence of your wrongdoing. You may have factual or legal defenses to the charges that we can raise and prove, defending and defeating the charges. Depending on your unique situation, those defenses may include any of the following circumstances, among other potential defenses:
- the charges misidentify you for the wrongs of another insurance professional;
- the charges misconstrue and misinterpret your actions and intentions relative to the disputed transaction;
- complaining witnesses did not observe your alleged wrongs and are instead guessing or conjecturing;
- a complaining customer has made false allegations in retaliation against you for adverse outcomes for which you were not responsible;
- a competitor has made false complaints attempting to undercut your reputation and insurance practice;
- you met all rules and standards or undertook your actions on the reasonable advice or direction of others knowledgeable as to the rules and standards;
- you acted in a reasonable manner customary among insurance professionals under the particular circumstances and did not cause any loss or create substantial risk of loss or
- your acts were aberrations due to extraordinary unforeseeable circumstances since corrected and unlikely to repeat, in the context of your long record of sound insurance practice.
Our Role Defending Ohio Insurance Charges
When you retain us to defend your disciplinary charges, we promptly notify Ohio Department of Insurance officials of our appearance on your behalf. Our notice enables us to communicate, advocate, and negotiate with Department officials. Our attorneys have the reputation and relationships to gain the trust, confidence, and respect of disciplinary officials as we present your evidence and arguments for charge dismissal. We can also advocate and negotiate for remedial measures instead of punitive sanctions if Department officials have substantial evidence of your wrongdoing. If you have already lost your administrative hearing, we can take available appeals, seek court review as permitted, and seek alternative special relief for license reinstatement.
Ohio Insurance Division Complaints
Ohio Insurance Code Section 3905.14 authorizes the Department of Insurance to investigate complaints against a licensed insurance professional with appropriate subpoena, examination, and other investigation powers. To carry out that authority, the Ohio Department of Insurance maintains an online complaint center through which its disciplinary officials take complaints from anyone. Customers and clients are likely complainants, especially when things go wrong, even without any wrongdoing by the insurance broker, agent, or adjuster. But competitors may complain, too. Ohio Department of Insurance disciplinary officials may also act on their own recognizance based on media reports, court filings, and disciplinary records and actions of other state insurance boards.
Responding to Insurance Department Investigation
If you can, don't let things get too far down the road. Retain us the moment you hear of a customer, client, competitor, or other concern before the concern congeals into a formal complaint reaching Ohio Department of Insurance officials. We may be able to share your explanation and information with the concerned individual or individuals in a reliable, diplomatic, sensitive, and convincing fashion, heading off a disciplinary investigation. If a Department investigator contacts you, be sure to retain and consult us before responding so that we can help you respond with accurate, truthful, and complete information and associated documentation. Investigators may construe your careless misstatements or omissions as intentional deception and obstruction of the investigation, resulting in additional disciplinary charges.
Ohio Insurance Department Procedures
If your matter has already proceeded to formal disciplinary charges, then we can help you invoke Ohio's protective administrative procedures to ensure we get to present your best defense while challenging the Department's allegations of wrongdoing. Ohio Insurance Code Section 3905.14 assures you of fair notice of the charges and a fair hearing. Section 3905.14 also expressly references and incorporates the state's Administrative Procedure Act in Chapter 119 of Ohio's Revised Code. The Administrative Procedure Act articulates additional protections, including exchanges of evidence, prehearing conferences, subpoenas to secure your witnesses' attendance at the hearing, and appeal and court review opportunities. Let us help you strategically deploy these protective procedures for your best disciplinary outcome.
Ohio Insurance Department Discipline
Ohio Insurance Code Section 3905.14 grants Department of Insurance officials broad discretion to “suspend, revoke, or refuse to issue or renew any license of an insurance agent, assess a civil penalty, or impose any other sanction or sanctions” as discipline for the listed grounds. License suspension or revocation can be the figurative death knell for your Ohio insurance practice. License suspension or revocation means terminating your insurance practice unless and until you gain license reinstatement. Our goal in defending your disciplinary charges is thus to avoid license suspension or revocation. The Department of Insurance's broad discretion to impose lesser sanctions creates an opportunity for us to craft remedial measures that Department officials may well accept in lieu of license suspension or revocation. Those remedial measures may include additional training or education that you are glad to accept, an evaluation that you admit you need, or counseling or mentoring that you welcome to improve your personal health and professional practices. Let us put forward your best case for mitigating any sanctions to preserve your license, reputation, and practice.
Qualified Ohio Insurance License Defense
The above discussion should have shown you the value of our highly qualified license defense services. Avoid retaining unqualified local transactional attorneys, civil litigators, or criminal defense counsel. The law, rules, and procedures for transactional or litigation work differ from the law, rules, and procedures for administrative license defense. We know what your legal representative needs to know for your best disciplinary outcome. Our focus on administrative license defense also ensures that our attorneys have the reputation and relationships to gain the ear, confidence, and trust of disciplinary officials.
Premier Insurance License Defense Attorneys
If you face Ohio Department of Insurance license discipline, the Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team is available at your Ohio location for your defense. We help hundreds of insurance brokers, agents, and adjusters, and other professionals across Ohio 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 Ohio insurance license and practice.
