California and Missouri companies ordered to stop selling unauthorized insurance in WA

The Washington state Office of the Insurance Commissioner today ordered companies in California and Missouri to immediately stop selling unauthorized insurance in Washington state.

Claims & Benefit Management, of Chino, Calif. and the Association for Lifestyle Reform, a Missouri corporation, were ordered "to immediately cease and desist" from:

-Engaging in unauthorized insurance business in Washington, including collecting premiums and advertising,
-and soliciting insurance business in the state.

The order, issued Tuesday, also included Brad Wessler, a California resident who owns both companies. Wessler was also named in similar orders last year in Utah and in Colorado.

Investigators at the Washington state Office of the Insurance Commissioner found that the companies were selling insurance and medical care discount cards in the state. Neither the companies nor Wessler were authorized to act as an insurer or health care service contractor in Washington.

The companies, according to the order, are believed to have used misleading "fax blasts" of unsolicited faxes touting "affordable health care" and $10 doctor visits. The company is also believed to have required customers to provide bank account or credit card information for automatic withdrawals "and then refused or delayed making refunds" when consumers complained.

Tuesday's cease-and-desist order also orders Wessler and his companies to provide a list of all Washington customers and to report any premiums paid.
The companies must also notify all Washington customers of the order and, upon the insured person's request, replace any unauthorized insurance with coverage issued by an authorized insurer.

The cease-and-desist order is posted on the insurance commissioner's website.