Md. Begins Crackdown On Insurance Form Fees
Maryland insurance regulators yesterday cracked down on insurance agents who are illegally charging clients for filing insurance verification forms required by the state.</br></br>Maryland drivers who paid insurance companies to file the FR-19 auto insurance verification form are entitled to be reimbursed within 30 days, and the firms that illegally imposed the fee will be fined as much as $50,000, officials of the state insurance commission said.</br></br>Insurance Commissioner Edward J. Muhl issued an order directing the stateÛªs 500 licensed property and casualty insurance companies to submit to the commission a list of policyholders who were improperly charged, the agents who billed the policyholders and a written explanation of the firmÛªs procedure for filing forms on behalf of policyholders.</br></br>"Any such charge that has been made [for filing the FR-19] constitutes a violation of the Maryland insurance law,Û MuhlÛªs order said. Not only do guilty insurance firms that charged the fee face fines, but also agents who imposed the fee can be fined $500 per violation, he said. More than 35,000 insurance agents work in Maryland, according to the insurance commission.</br></br>Muhl initiated yesterdayÛªs action after receiving complaints from state Del. Casper R. Taylor Jr. (D-Allegany and Washington counties), who said he had received numerous complaints.