Companies Told to Stop Selling Insurance in Ohio

The Ohio Department of Insurance has issued cease and desist orders to two companies that were found to have been selling insurance in the state without licenses to do so. Ohio Department of Insurance Director Mary Jo Hudson has also issued a consumer alert to Ohioans who may have purchased health insurance products from either Real Benefits Association (“RBA”) or its owner, David Clark.

Permanent cease and desist orders were issued to the Association of Franchise and Independent Distributors (“AFID”) of Springfield, Ohio, and The Beema Insurance Company of Pakistan after a department investigation revealed that neither of these companies have a license to sell insurance products in the State of Ohio.

Ohioans who may have purchased a plan from RBA, Clark, BEEMA, or AFID should take notice that they are not properly licensed insurance companies or individuals in the State of Ohio, and they should cancel the policy, seek a refund, and seek coverage from a licensed Ohio company.

The State of North Carolina has also issued a cease and desist order against Clark and his association, RBA, the Ohio Insurance Department said.

The North Carolina cease and desist order requires Clark and RBA to stop their illegal insurance activities and to pay a fine in excess of $100,000.

Clark also has recently entered into a consent order in his home state of New Jersey, in which his home state insurance license was revoked and he was fined $40,000.00 for his fraudulent insurance activity.

Source: Ohio Department of Insurance, www.insurance.ohio.gov