As you might recall from a post last week, Commissioner Kreidler is recovering from planned heart surgery on April 2. His doctors had been monitoring his health status over the past several months, leading to the scheduled bypass and valve-replacement surgery.
He's doing very well. After three days of recovery at Providence St. Peter Hospital, he returned to his home in Olympia on Friday. Like most people who have major surgery, he's happy to be home with his family, and pleased that things went so well.
He's been checking in regularly via phone and email, and appreciates the cards, emails and Twitter messages of support. He wanted to be sure that we posted an update here to let folks know how he's doing.
During his recovery, the commissioner's duties are being handled by Acting Chief Deputy Deb McCurley, who's been with the agency since 2006.
Monday, April 8, 2013
Cowlitz County driver faces multiple charges in insurance fraud case
A Cowlitz County woman faces multiple charges after she allegedly ran into another vehicle, fled the scene, and falsely filed reports with police and her insurer claiming that her car had been stolen.
Kaitlyn D. Karthauser, 21, was charged March 27th in Lewis County Superior Court with hit and run, second-degree perjury, insurance fraud, and making a false statement to police.
On Oct. 20, 2012, around 3:30 a.m., according to investigators, Karthauser was driving her gray Saturn north on Interstate 5 when she rear-ended a white car in front of her. She allegedly pulled over, looked over her car for damage, then drove off. The other driver sustained head and back injuries and was taken to a hospital in nearby Centralia. Troopers discovered the front license plate from Karthauser's car among the collision debris at the scene.
About 40 minutes later, the Chehalis Police Department spotted Karthauser's Saturn abandoned in a city park one freeway exit up from where the collision took place.
Eight hours later, Karthauser called the Castle Rock Police Department and reported that someone had stolen her car the night before. She signed a theft report. An hour after that, she called her auto insurer and filed a claim for her stolen car.
On Oct. 22, when told that the State Patrol would check her cell phone records to determine where she was during the time of the crash, Karthauser allegedly admitted to a State Patrol investigator that she lied when she reported the car stolen. The following morning, she called her insurer and told them the same thing.
She said she was driving to a friend's house late at night when she fell asleep and hit the other car. She was jarred awake by the collision, and upon seeing the damage, she said, she panicked and drove off.
Kaitlyn D. Karthauser, 21, was charged March 27th in Lewis County Superior Court with hit and run, second-degree perjury, insurance fraud, and making a false statement to police.
On Oct. 20, 2012, around 3:30 a.m., according to investigators, Karthauser was driving her gray Saturn north on Interstate 5 when she rear-ended a white car in front of her. She allegedly pulled over, looked over her car for damage, then drove off. The other driver sustained head and back injuries and was taken to a hospital in nearby Centralia. Troopers discovered the front license plate from Karthauser's car among the collision debris at the scene.
About 40 minutes later, the Chehalis Police Department spotted Karthauser's Saturn abandoned in a city park one freeway exit up from where the collision took place.
Eight hours later, Karthauser called the Castle Rock Police Department and reported that someone had stolen her car the night before. She signed a theft report. An hour after that, she called her auto insurer and filed a claim for her stolen car.
On Oct. 22, when told that the State Patrol would check her cell phone records to determine where she was during the time of the crash, Karthauser allegedly admitted to a State Patrol investigator that she lied when she reported the car stolen. The following morning, she called her insurer and told them the same thing.
She said she was driving to a friend's house late at night when she fell asleep and hit the other car. She was jarred awake by the collision, and upon seeing the damage, she said, she panicked and drove off.
"My insurer's using values from all over the country to value my totaled car. Can they do this?"
Under Washington state law, unless you gave your insurer permission to search over 150 miles from your home, no, they cannot use cars from all over the country when trying to find comparables. Feel free to refer them to the insurance rule on this issue, which is known as WAC 284-30-391 ("Methods and standards of practice for settlement of total loss vehicle claims.")
And even if you are dealing with someone else's insurer, they still need to look for comparable cars in and near where the vehicle is normally garaged or parked.
If you have problems with this -- and you live in Washington state -- feel free to file a complaint with our office so we can help ensure that the rules are followed. If you live in another state, check with your state's insurance department.
And even if you are dealing with someone else's insurer, they still need to look for comparable cars in and near where the vehicle is normally garaged or parked.
If you have problems with this -- and you live in Washington state -- feel free to file a complaint with our office so we can help ensure that the rules are followed. If you live in another state, check with your state's insurance department.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Update: Consent order entered in enforcement case
In March 2014, the cease and desist order against Charles D. Oliver was superseded and replaced by a consent order levying a fine of $5,000 with $2,500 suspended on conditions, based on violations of the insurance code that did not include fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading conduct.
The original blog post follows:
Cease and desist order issued to Charles D. Oliver, American Equity Advisory Group, and "the Chuck Oliver team"
A few minutes ago, we issued this cease and desist order telling Charles D. Oliver, American Equity Advisory Group LLC, and "the Chuck Oliver team," as well as their employees, agents and affiliates, to immediately stop selling insurance products in Washington without a license.
We received a complaint from a woman who -- despite the fact that she is unmarried and has no children -- had bought two $1 million life insurance policies and an annuity from Oliver and an associate, Steven H. Minnich. From the order we issued today:
"In the end, Mr. Minnich and Mr. Oliver sold (the woman) two life insurance policies and an annuity, as part of a complex scheme they call `maximum funding' or the `Missed Fortune' concept. Essentially, the plan was to deposit a large amount of premium into the plans for the first five years, and then stop paying on the contract.In this case, the premiums amounted to $110,000 a year. The woman, who had minimal annual income, was only able to make the first two years' payments by borrowing from one life insurance policy, cashing in another, borrowing from her IRA, and opening a home equity line of credit. Mnnich and Oliver, according to our order, "knew that she does not, and never did, have the assets to be able to make the $110,000 payments for five years."
"Mr. Minnich and Mr. Oliver told (her) that, if she did not touch the life policies for 10 years after that, she would be able to borrow $75,000 per year against the life insurance death benefit to use as retirement income, without paying any taxes and with minimal or no interest. They told her she would be able to do that without paying any further premiums on the policies, and for as long as she may live.
"This is not correct. Based upon the non-guaranteed amounts in the illustrations provided, there is a theoretical possibility that it could occur. However, the guaranteed amounts show that, within a few years (the buyer) would run out of cash value in the policies against which to borrow. This would happen by operation of the loans themselves, in addition to the accrued interest. In addition, the death benefits would decrease when (she) reached certain age milestones. Thus, not only would (she) not be able to use the policies for retirement income, she would also need to pay additional premiums simply to keep the policies in force. Thus, it is vastly more likely that the plan would not have performed as represented to her by Mr. Minnich and Mr. Oliver, and would leave her in a far worse financial state than if she had left her money where it was.
"Neither Mr. Minnich nor Mr. Oliver even suggested to (the buyer) that this was a possibility, let alone informed (her) of the extreme risks she was taking."
Our order alleges that these transactions included nearly a dozen violations of Washington state law, including Oliver's selling insurance without a license, selling an unapproved policy, taking a commission without being licensed, describing the plan in a way that could be misleading, engaging in unfair or deceptive practices, and "by knowingly making, publishing or disseminating false, deceptive or misleading representations" of an insurance transaction.
The respondents can demand a hearing. The order, which was signed today, takes effect immediately.
"My lender wants my homeowners policy to cover the home AND the land value. Can they do that?"
No, not in Washington state.
Since the land itself is not considered covered property, including it would inflate the cost of your insurance premium. And you could never collect on a claim for the value of that land, since it's not covered property.
To preclude such a waste of your premium dollars, Washington state law bans insurers from issuing a policy that includes the value of non-covered land. The title of the relevant section of law says it all: "Over-insurance prohibited."
That said, however, you can get a policy for what's called "replacement cost" coverage for your home. With that kind of coverage, you could collect the cost to replace the home in the event that it was totally destroyed by a covered event and had to be rebuilt. And that replacement cost can be more than a home's current market value, particularly if the home is older or in less-than-sterling condition.
Questions? The law we're referring to is RCW 48.27.
Since the land itself is not considered covered property, including it would inflate the cost of your insurance premium. And you could never collect on a claim for the value of that land, since it's not covered property.
To preclude such a waste of your premium dollars, Washington state law bans insurers from issuing a policy that includes the value of non-covered land. The title of the relevant section of law says it all: "Over-insurance prohibited."
That said, however, you can get a policy for what's called "replacement cost" coverage for your home. With that kind of coverage, you could collect the cost to replace the home in the event that it was totally destroyed by a covered event and had to be rebuilt. And that replacement cost can be more than a home's current market value, particularly if the home is older or in less-than-sterling condition.
Questions? The law we're referring to is RCW 48.27.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Kreidler recovering from planned heart surgery
Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler is recovering after successful heart surgery.
“The commissioner was upbeat and confident about the operation,” said Sandi Peck, Deputy Insurance Commissioner for Public Affairs. “He called our office this morning, and he sounds as if he’s well on the road to recovery. As a staunch advocate for health care reform, he’s definitely looking forward to getting back to work.”
During Kreidler’s recovery, Acting Chief Deputy Deb McCurley will be handling the commissioner’s duties. McCurley has been the deputy insurance commissioner for operations since 2006.
“The consumers we serve and industry professionals we regulate shouldn’t notice any changes,” said McCurley. “We have a dedicated, professional staff, many of whom have long experience dealing with insurance.”
Kreidler, 69, was re-elected to a fourth four-year term in November 2012. He is a former member of Congress, state lawmaker and doctor of optometry.
Health insurance tips: What if the billing code is wrong?
We often hear from consumers who tells us that they're having health insurance problems related to billing codes. People think the wrong code was used, but don't know how to find out for sure. And then they're not sure how to change it.
Billing codes are the shorthand way that doctors and other health care providers describe their services. The most widely used type are called "CPT codes." They were created by the American Medical Association.
You see these codes all the time on those letters -- which are known as Explanations of Benefits, or EOBs -- that your insurer sends you after each health care appointment. Sometimes there's an accompanying line indicating what the service was, but it's not always clear.
If you're trying to figure out more about what a particular code means, you can go to this web page set up by the AMA. It will tell you the definition of a particular code. With that information, you can go to your health care provider and ask them to redo the coding.
If that doesn't work and you still feel that the CPT code doesn't correctly describe the services you received, you can ask your health care provider for a copy of the chart notes. You can send these notes to the insurance company, where one of the insurer's billing specialists can review the notes to decide whether to use a different code. (Note that the provider's office can make you pay for the copy of the chart notes, so be ready for that if it comes up.) We have seen consumers win insurance disputes using this technique, though, so it's worth a try.
Billing codes are the shorthand way that doctors and other health care providers describe their services. The most widely used type are called "CPT codes." They were created by the American Medical Association.
You see these codes all the time on those letters -- which are known as Explanations of Benefits, or EOBs -- that your insurer sends you after each health care appointment. Sometimes there's an accompanying line indicating what the service was, but it's not always clear.
If you're trying to figure out more about what a particular code means, you can go to this web page set up by the AMA. It will tell you the definition of a particular code. With that information, you can go to your health care provider and ask them to redo the coding.
If that doesn't work and you still feel that the CPT code doesn't correctly describe the services you received, you can ask your health care provider for a copy of the chart notes. You can send these notes to the insurance company, where one of the insurer's billing specialists can review the notes to decide whether to use a different code. (Note that the provider's office can make you pay for the copy of the chart notes, so be ready for that if it comes up.) We have seen consumers win insurance disputes using this technique, though, so it's worth a try.
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