WA Insurance Penalties Include Fines for ‘Ilegal’ Pet Insurance

Among the fines issued so far this year in WA by Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer include some illegal health plans, and pet insurance.

   Sellers must be licensed in the state to sell

 The Office of Insurance Commissioner reports a company named United Benefits Partner Group (UBPG) was hit with a $250,000 fine for selling what the state said were unqualified healthcare plans., or ERISA plans. They are only intended for company workers.

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ERISA plans are employer-sponsored health benefit programs, however, UBPG also violated the law by selling plans to people who did not work for their company. The people who bought the plans said they saw them when they were shopping online for coverage.

The OIC also levied $30,000 fines against  Petcube, Inc. and Vets Plus More for selling unlicensed pet insurance policies, but trying to spin them as an insurance "alternative.'   Insurance officials said the companies sold at least 113 policies for what was reportedly described as "tele-med" service, but the OIC found they were actually selling emergency insurance.

One would wonder how tele-med would work with an animal, they can't talk...

Unlicensed insurance companies do not pay taxes, because they're not registered with the state, and without registration, there is no regulatory control to prevent fraud or other consumer issues.