Kreidler Fines Ohio Insurer $500,000

OLYMPIA, Wash., Oct. 23 -- The Washington stateOffice of the Insurance Commissioner issued the following news release:

Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler is fining Ohio-based BCS Insurance Company$500,000 for issuing hundreds of thousands of policies using unapproved rates and policy language.

"A fair insurance market depends on companies playing by the rules," said Kreidler. "When an insurer files rates and policy language with us, that's what we expect them to use."

BCS Insurance has agreed to pay the fine. An additional $250,000 fine is suspended, provided the company commits no similar violations for two years. The company has also agreed to a two-year plan, including internal audits, to make sure the company is in compliance with Washington state law.

An investigation by Kreidler's office found that between 2007 and 2009, BCS issued over 500,000 travel insurance policies that were different from the policy language filed with the state. Rates for identical benefits were inconsistent, depending on who the customer was.

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