One year after Michigan insurance regulators moved to crack down on L.A. Insurance’s agents for deceptive business practices, the insurance agency has walked away with a fine.
L.A. Insurance is known for offering “inexpensive” seven-day auto insurance plans. Last year, the agency (along with several others) was accused of “sliding” – an underhanded business practice wherein agents would sell coverage to customers without informing them of supplementary products such as National Safe Drivers Auto Club roadside assistance or emergency towing services that could double premiums.
Integon National Insurance, the carrier that sold the seven-day policies through L.A. Insurance, was sent a notice by Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services on March 15, 2017; the notice warned Integon that its ability to sell the coverage via L.A. Insurance was being terminated, Crain’s Detroit Business reported.
Although the ban on seven-day auto coverage in Michigan is still up in the air, the state’s insurance department recently reached a settlement with four L.A. Insurance agents who were accused of “sliding.”
According to a March 05 order signed by state insurance department chief deputy director Teri Morante, the employees – Jennifer Essak, Laurence Essak, Pierre Putruss and Brandon Kiminaia – as well as three other separate agencies, all agreed to pay a combined $55,000 in fines and refund drivers who were wrongly charged.
Laurence Essak and Putruss were served four-month insurance license suspensions, while Jennifer Essak received a nine-month suspension. In addition, their three agencies in Ypsilanti and Owosso were put on probation for one year.
Kiminaia was selling insurance without a license, the chief deputy director’s order read.
“It was cheaper to settle than keep fighting. The attorney fees are astronomical,” commented L.A. Insurance CEO Anthony Yousif. “It was easier to settle.”
