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OKLAHOMA

           

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 Oklahoma UFAA Contacts:    

UFAA Chapter 15 serving Eastern Oklahoma   

President- Glenn Johnson 918/252-0561  

UFAA Chapter 12 serving Central-Western Oklahoma:   

President- Tony Reese 580/355-1335 - Lawton  

United Farmers Agents Assn. National Office 800-275-8668
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Farmers Insurance Announces Settlement  

of Oklahoma Nationwide Class Action Lawsuit

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Farmers Insurance announced today that it entered into a settlement of a nationwide class action lawsuit, In Re Farmers Med-Pay Litigation, pending in the District Court of Canadian County, Oklahoma (the "Court").  

The settlement includes Farmers Insurance Company, Inc., Farmers Insurance Exchange, Truck Insurance Exchange, Fire Insurance Exchange, Mid-Century Insurance Company, Farmers Group, Inc., Illinois Farmers Insurance Company, and certain related entities (collectively, "Farmers").  The Court preliminarily approved the settlement on June 20, 2011.

Plaintiffs alleged that Farmers failed to pay reasonable expenses for necessary medical services related to automobile accidents under Medical Payments ("Med-pay") and Personal Injury Protection ("PIP") coverage in automobile policies based on Farmers' use of certain claim adjustment systems and procedures.  Farmers denies all of Plaintiffs' claims in the lawsuit.  However, Farmers agreed to resolve the lawsuit to avoid the burden and expense of continued litigation.

The Settlement Class includes all persons who submitted claims for payment of medical bills related to an automobile accident under Med-pay or PIP coverage if (a) the claim was adjusted from January 1, 2001 to February 9, 2009 based upon a recommended reduction from Zurich Services Corporation ("ZSC"), (b) the claim was paid at less than the amount billed, and (c) total Med-pay or PIP payments were less than the respective limits of coverage.  The Class also includes medical providers who were assigned the right to assert these claims.

Individuals or medical providers with questions about the lawsuit or the settlement can visit MedpayClaimsAdministration.com or call 1-877-846-0588 for more information and to get a claim form.  Claim forms must be postmarked by December 29, 2011.  Those affected by this settlement can submit a claim for benefits or they can ask to be excluded from, or object to, the settlement and its terms.  The deadline for exclusions and objections is October 29, 2011.  The Court will decide whether to grant final approval of the Settlement at a Hearing currently scheduled for November 29, 2011.

More details of the case at this link  

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OID Anti-Fraud Unit Investigation Results in  

A former Edmond insurance agent faces a felony charge of embezzlement as the result of an investigation by the Oklahoma Insurance Department's Anti-Fraud Unit.

Insurance Commissioner John Doak and Attorney General Scott Pruitt have publicly partnered in an effort to crack down on insurance crimes in Oklahoma. Investigators at the Insurance Department found evidence that William J. Liebl, 30, of Okarche, defrauded a local couple by skimming part of their insurance premium payments. Based on that evidence, one felony charge of embezzlement was filed against Liebl by the Attorney General's Office on June 29.

Liebl was at large until Thursday, when he turned himself in at the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office. The former agent's license was first suspended and then revoked by the Insurance Department during this investigation, prior to charges being filed.

"I am committed to making Oklahoma a very dangerous place to be for insurance criminals," said Commissioner Doak. "Each and every prosecution that we pursue should be another warning that the Oklahoma Insurance Department's Anti-Fraud Unit is serious about fulfilling my zero-tolerance policy toward insurance crime."

The victims paid Liebl more than $2,000 in annual premiums for auto and home insurance coverage. However, investigation revealed that Liebl did not apply those payments to the victims' insurance policies, but instead deposited them into his own personal credit union account. Later, the victims' home was damaged by a hailstorm and the insurer declined to pay for repairs, stating that the policy had been canceled due to nonpayment. Investigation discovered Liebl's failure to forward the victims' payment to the insurer, resulting in a felony count of embezzlement. The insurer also agreed to honor the victims' hail damage claim. Randy Brogdon, Deputy Commissioner of Fraud and Consumer Affairs at the Oklahoma Insurance Department, commended his officers for their work.

"The investigators in OID's Anti-Fraud Unit are highly trained, experienced and dedicated to protecting Oklahoma's consumers from insurance crimes," Brogdon said. "Their hard work to root out the bad actors makes Oklahoma's insurance market safer and better for consumers and honest insurers alike."  

 Some Allstate Agents Look To Unionize

An Allstate agents' group is asking its members to consider aligning with a union and forming a guild to aid in its fight against what the group says are unfair business practices toward agents by the company.

The National Association of Professional Allstate Agents Inc. (NAPAA) says it is asking members to vote on a proposal for the association to affiliate with the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) as a guild.

"Agent morale at Allstate has hit rock bottom, which cannot be good for the company, the agents or the shareholders," says Jim Fish, NAPAA executive director, in a statement. "This is not a matter of political philosophy; it's a matter of defending the interests of ill-treated small-business owners."

The decision, NAPAA says, was made after "an enthusiastic response" from those attending a recent meeting of the association board.

UPDATE:

Allstate Agents Group Approves Union Affiliation

Members of the National Association of Professional Allstate Agents approved to affiliate with the Office and Professional Employees International Union by an overwhelming majority in an effort to have more say over the future of their agencies.

OPEIU, a member of the AFL-CIO, says 94 percent of the 1,200 NAPAA members, voting by secret ballot, approved the affiliation.

"Our members have sent a message and we hear them loud and clear," says Jim Fish, NAPAA executive director in a statement. "Now we will work closely with OPEIU to finalize an affiliation that establishes NAPAA as a guild."

He says the vote is the first step toward ensuring that Allstate agents are treated as "true independent contractors instead of employees."

"Currently, agents are subjected to unachievable quotas, the specter of reduced compensation and an ever-present threat of contract termination," says Fish. "Many companies today are circumventing IRS precepts regarding employee status and are now classifying these same people as independent contractors. This practice has to stop."

Adds OPEIU International President Michael Goodwin, "This is a matter of defending the interests of ill-treated small business owners, and NAPAA members have recognized that OPEIU is the right organization to help them achieve the benefits and protections they deserve."

"With the insurance industry being highly regulated at the state level, NAPAA will soon be able to offer legislative access and legal support to questionable compliance issues, faced by both agents and customers alike," he adds.

Becoming a part of the OPEIU is still subject to approval by the NAPAA board.

For its part, Allstate dismissed the vote, saying that it represents only a minor number of its agent force.

"This group's indication that it will seek a vote from its members to affiliate with the OPEIU would seem to be an internal issue for them," says a statement from Allstate. "Their members include only a small number of Allstate's current agency owners."

The acrimony between the agents and Allstate was reignited earlier this year when the company said it would reduce agent's commissions but increase their variable, performance based commissions.

The company says it also plans to review its agency relationships with an eye toward aggregating agency's into larger shops and reduce the size of its small agencies. The company's chief executive says agents are supportive of its strategy.

U. S. Government Gone Wild

An eye opening 2:40 minute video from youtube.com  

A Most Phenomenal Word