The insurance industry touches every aspect of Rhode Island's public or private sectors, which explains why the industry is heavily regulated. The licensing requirement for insurance agents is a cornerstone of these regulations, and the state's licensed agents are held to high professional standards. That's why losing your insurance license to government sanctions is something you want to avoid at all costs.
Are you a licensed insurance professional in Rhode Island being investigated by the Division of Insurance? The division can revoke or suspend your license, which means your career is in their hands. Take the process seriously and fight for your due process rights. The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team has a track record of successful professional license defense nationwide. You deserve quality representation. Call us at 888.535.3686 or contact us online.
Rhode Island Division of Insurance
The Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation has designated the Division of Insurance (also known as the “division”) to exercise legal and investigative oversight of the state's insurance industry. The division's duties include investigating complaints of impropriety or violations of the state's insurance laws by licensees. It also reviews and approves license applications.
Rhode Island Law makes it illegal to sell, produce, or market insurance products without a license issued by the division. That means your ability to work in this profession is contingent upon complying with Rhode Island's regulations. The division has broad authority to issue sanctions for violators. Division sanctions can include one or any combination of the following:
- A monetary fine ranging from $100 to $50,000
- The revocation or suspension of your insurance license
- Issuing a formal order directing you to cease the violation(s)
- Setting the criteria necessary for returning your license to full compliance with division regulations
The Division will take multiple factors into account when determining a potential punishment. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following:
- The severity of the violation(s)
- The previous disciplinary history of the licensee—In most cases, you can expect division sanctions to increase in severity with each violation, even if the subsequent violation differs from previous ones.
- The degree of financial harm done to the public
Other Consequences of Division Sanctions
All division sanctions are matters of public record, and they are posted on the Division's website. That means your professional reputation will suffer a near-permanent stain even if your license isn't revoked or suspended. As an insurance agent, the ability to gain your client's trust is critical to your long-term success. It will be much more difficult if prospective clients discover that you have a history of being sanctioned by the division.
There could also be additional consequences if you hold another professional license in Rhode Island or another state. It's not uncommon for licensing agencies and governing bodies to require licensees to inform them of any disciplinary action taken against other professional licenses they may hold. In many cases, the failure to disclose the violation will be considered a second, separate offense.
That's especially critical in Rhode Island because its small size leads many licensees to supplement their income by working in neighboring states. This means division sanctions could affect your entire livelihood, not just your ability to work in Rhode Island. It's also important to remember that licensed insurance agents in Rhode Island are required to carry errors and omissions insurance.
Insurers will consider your disciplinary history when writing your policy and setting your premiums. The presence of even one violation sanction could lead to increased premiums or deductibles. Severe sanctions such as license suspensions or revocations may leave you in a position where no insurer wants to cover you. Prospective employers may also be less willing to hire licensees with a history of disciplinary sanctions.
What Types of Infractions Can Lead to Division Investigations or Sanctions?
At its core, the insurance industry relies on trust. With that in mind, any activity that negatively reflects on your professional reputation or threatens public perception of the industry can lead to investigations and sanctions. Some of the most common causes for investigations and sanctions include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Fraudulent activity of any kind
- Intentionally misrepresenting the provisions of a policy
- Misappropriation of client funds
- Failure to cooperate with an investigation (e.g., refusal to turn over records, failure to respond to division investigators)
- Falsifying records or lying to division investigators
- Selling insurance, writing policies, or other similar activities without a valid insurance license
- Being convicted of a felony
- Being convicted of a misdemeanor that reflects negatively on your integrity (e.g., theft, writing bad checks)
This is only a partial list of violations. Please contact the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team to discuss your case if you don't see the violation you are being investigated for listed here. Regardless of the violation, it's critical to understand there is no such thing as a “minor” sanction.
Every disciplinary action has the potential to hurt your career because of the progressive nature of division disciplinary sanctions. The sanctions generally get more severe with each subsequent violation. That's why you must take every complaint or investigation seriously.
How Do Division Investigations Begin?
The division has the statutory authority to investigate you anytime it has reason to believe you're violating the terms of your licensure. However, most investigations arise out of complaints made against you to the division. Anyone can file a complaint about you on the division's website. With that said, some of the most common sources of complaints come from the following people:
- Current or former clients
- Current or former employees (e.g., assistant, secretary)
- Your current or former employer
What Happens After Complaints Are Filed?
The division will assess every complaint for validity promptly after it is filed. If this assessment indicates that the complaint has merit, the division will initiate a formal investigation. They will inform you in writing that a complaint has been filed against you. This formal notice will include the following information:
- The specific violation(s) you are accused of committing
- The name of the complainant
- The place, date, and time of the violation(s)
The division will also want to get your version of the events, and their complaint notification will likely include a request for you to respond. Although the notification may give you a deadline for your response, we strongly suggest you contact our Professional License Defense Team before doing so. There are several important reasons why it benefits you to get us involved in your case as early as possible in the investigative process.
You do not have the same due process rights in division complaints that you would in a criminal investigation. The division may regard your failure to respond as an admission of guilt, and you are still required to answer questions from division investigators. At the same time, anything you say to a division investigator in your response or an interview can be used as evidence against you.
If you inadvertently admit to another violation during your response, the division can and will investigate it. However, preparing your written statement in collaboration with the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team drastically reduces the chances of you making an inadvertent admission to a different violation. We will help you create a concise statement that answers the complaint but doesn't expose you to additional sanctions.
Why The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team?
Rhode Island requires you to complete a multi-faceted education process to qualify for an insurance license. Even after you complete the education process, you will need years of experience to learn all the nuances of the profession. The combination of your education and experience is what makes you truly effective. The same thing is true about professional license defense.
The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team has spent decades successfully defending professional licenses from regulatory agencies all over America. We are well-versed in every stage of the investigation process, and we understand what the division is really looking for in a complaint investigation. They are trying to assess whether your continued licensure is potentially harmful to Rhode Island consumers.
We don't just focus on fighting the charges against you in the complaint. Our team will build a comprehensive case that addresses the charges against you and shows the division why you should be allowed to keep your license. We focus all of our energy and experience on handling your case and maximizing your chances of a positive outcome.
You won't ever have to deal with division investigators or interviews by yourself. We will make sure that you are prepared for any interaction with the division and keep track of all the relevant dates in your case. This will allow you to focus on your career instead of dividing your attention between work and dealing with the division by yourself.
How The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team Fights Charges
Our team takes a comprehensive approach to handling division investigations and charges. The first thing we will do is thoroughly examine the charges against you for any inaccurate or inconsistent statements. Secondly, we will fight to make sure that your due process rights are respected throughout the investigation. The division serves an important role in helping safeguard Rhode Island's insurance industry, but it's not infallible.
Sometimes investigators go overboard and become fixated on a particular outcome. It will be a lot more difficult for the division (or its representatives) to infringe on your rights or treat you unfairly if you have our Professional License Defense Team working on your behalf. Our attorneys have subpoena power, which gives us the ability to review how the division has handled cases similar to yours in the past. That's not something you can do on your own.
We will also conduct an exhaustive search for evidence that refutes the allegations in the complaint. Many complaints come from angry clients who are dissatisfied with how their insurance company handled their claim. That's not a good enough reason for you to lose your license, but it takes skill and experience to persuade the division that the complainant in your case had an axe to grind.
Disciplinary Alternatives and Other Options
We never waver in our commitment to our client, and that commitment includes exploring every option that allows you to keep your license. There may still be alternatives to having your license suspended or revoked in cases where division discipline is unavoidable. We have extensive experience negotiating consent decrees with state licensing boards that allow our clients to continue working in the profession.
If that's not possible, or the division is overly harsh in its discipline, we can try to move your case into another venue. The division's word is not necessarily final, and we may be able to seek redress for your case in the public courts. The important thing for you to keep in mind is that we won't ever stop fighting for you until all the options have been exhausted.
The Worst Thing You Can Do Is Nothing
Getting a notification that you're being investigated for a potential infraction is something that no Rhode Island insurance professional wants to experience. With that said, being investigated does not have to lead to being sanctioned. You took proactive steps to get educated and get your license, and you may have to be proactive about defending it. The worst thing you can do is nothing.
The investigation won't go away by itself, and you worked too hard for your license not to fight for it. You deserve a legal team as dedicated to fighting for your insurance license as you are to your clients. We understand how important your professional reputation is, and we will leave no stone unturned in defending it. Call the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team at 888-535-3686 or contact us online immediately.
