Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Allen Kerr has issued a cease and desist order against Florida-based Health Insurance Innovations (HII) over allegations of insurance fraud.
Kerr’s department has accused HII of using fraudulent and dishonest practices in trying to sell short-term health care plans to Arkansans, claiming the plans were compliant with the Affordable Care Act.
“The Arkansas Insurance Department (AID) takes very seriously its charge to protect Arkansas consumers from fraud. We will not allow unlicensed individuals to prey upon our neighbors with non-compliant health insurance plans under the promise of avoiding a tax penalty,” he said.
The cease and desist order requires HII and its affiliates to immediately stop the sale, solicitation, or advertising of any health plans or medical insurance using unlicensed agents.
The order also compels the company to stop intentionally misrepresenting the terms of an insurance contract or application for insurance.
According to the AID, its investigators had a phone call with an HII employee who offered insurance plans and provided quotes for the company’s products, despite admitting that he was not a licensed insurance agent.
Several company representatives also made misleading statements to investigators about two HII short-term health plans, “HealtheFlex” and “Principal Advantage Plan,” that they were Obamacare-compliant products that would allow a consumer to avoid receiving a tax penalty.
Kerr is urging consumers to contact his department if they receive a sales call from HII or has bought its health plans.
“This is the first step in our investigation into the practices of Health Insurance Innovations in Arkansas,” he said.
