Referrals

[LGinOhio]

Hi all. I hope you are all doing well. It has been a while since I have been on here. been busy, thankfully.
Does anyone know if agents in Ohio are allowed to offer a "referral reward" to a client or potential client for referring someone to me? I am an independent agent/broker.

Thanks!

 

[TristanTLC]

sounds like rebating to me. which is only legal in 2 states. Ohio is not one of them.

You can offer a "referral fee," as long as the fee is not contingent upon the deal happening. You are, more or less, paying for the lead.

I'm not an attorney, and don't take that as legal advice.

 

[LGinOhio]

Thanks for the info. now the PA life & annuity company I sell for does it, so it was just a thought. I appreciate your time and info.

 

[briko3]

I offer money for referrals that become clients. I don't specify what that means.

 

[Guest]

You can as long as it's not contingent upon the client signing up. You may have state specific rules and regulations so check the DOI.

Below are some definitions:

Rebating:
"Giving any valuable consideration, usually all or part of the commission, to the prospect or insured as an inducement to buy or renew. Insurance rebating is prohibited by law. "

"Returning a portion of the premium or the agent's/broker's commission on the premium to the insured or other inducements to place business with a specific insurer."

Here are some other interesting facts:

In Michigan (the one I remembered to look up) a client can give you a list of referrals for a fee, again [FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]so long as payment of the referral fee is not contingent upon a referral applying for or purchasing a policy.

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Hi all. I hope you are all doing well. It has been a while since I have been on here. been busy, thankfully.
Does anyone know if agents in Ohio are allowed to offer a "referral reward" to a client or potential client for referring someone to me? I am an independent agent/broker.

Thanks!