State Board of Insurance

[spurdo]

About 4 years ago I was terminated from an insurance company. I was never given any explanation as to why, I simply moved on. The only other correspondence I received was several months later, a letter from the state board stated there was an investigation. Nothing since then, and I figured it was over.

This week I received a call from a state board representative saying we need to meet so they can get "my side of the story", I asked him for particulars and he said he can't provide them. Has anyone dealt with the state board before, should I get an attorney to meet with me?

 

[walthamny]

Your E&O insurance may or not pay for this. If this was regarding a customer complaint, Your E&O will provide you with an attorney. Contact them even if you are not licensed or insured now you are still covered for acts occurred under the policy period.

If you were fired for some other criminal act, please get an attorney. The insurance board can refer you to the DA so you want an attorney with you.

You can also have your attorney ask the insurance board the scope of the matter and they may or not want to interview you. If you refuse FINRA meetings, they ban you for life from the industry. It is less clear what a insurance board would do/can do if you were no longer licensed anyway.

 

[VolAgent]

Not telling you what it is about strikes me as ambush tactics. To me that does not bode well.

Can you bring an attorney? I would definitely follow Walthamny's advice if you can.

If you can't and you are not told in advance what it pertains to, I believe my pat answer would be to either plead the fifth or say I would need to consult my notes before responding.

https://www.capcitylaw.com/what-happens-at-a-deposition/

This looks like some good advice, I would say the State Board of Insurance is going to be just as bad as opposing counsel if not worse. This says not even to say you will consult your notes. Simply some variation of, "I do not know" or "I do not recall".

Again, if they won't tell you what it is about, they are going to try and ambush you and make you guess, and you'll probably guess wrong.

 

[spurdo]

Thank you both for the replies. Rather than get an attorney immediately, I think I will go with your strategy VolAgent and anytime a hard question is posed to me, say I do not recall/I do not know. What do they expect after 4 years?

I feel like if "action" was going to be taken against me, it would have been done 4 years ago, not now. Meaning; if it was a serious issue, it would have been dealt with earlier. What do you think?

 

[VolAgent]

Thank you both for the replies. Rather than get an attorney immediately, I think I will go with your strategy VolAgent and anytime a hard question is posed to me, say I do not recall/I do not know. What do they expect after 4 years?

I feel like if "action" was going to be taken against me, it would have been done 4 years ago, not now. Meaning; if it was a serious issue, it would have been dealt with earlier. What do you think?

Suck it up and get an attorney, even a bad one.

You have no idea what they are allowed and not allowed to ask. An attorney does or should. You need someone there for you that isn't emotionally involved. As that link mentions, in a deposition they typically try to get you emotionally worked up so you lie, say too much, or do something else stupid. You need an advocate who can stop you.

And while you may know what is "wrong", you don't know what is illegal. So again, you have no idea when you need to be quiet versus talk yourself into a bad situation.

Added:
No, just because it is 4 years later doesn't mean it is not serious. The statue of limitations extends for some time. I have no idea if there is a limit if it is just licensing and not criminal.

 

[Klutch]

Suck it up and get an attorney, even a bad one.

You have no idea what they are allowed and not allowed to ask. An attorney does or should. You need someone there for you that isn't emotionally involved. As that link mentions, in a deposition they typically try to get you emotionally worked up so you lie, say too much, or do something else stupid. You need an advocate who can stop you.

And while you may know what is "wrong", you don't know what is illegal. So again, you have no idea when you need to be quiet versus talk yourself into a bad situation.

Added:
No, just because it is 4 years later doesn't mean it is not serious. The statue of limitations extends for some time. I have no idea if there is a limit if it is just licensing and not criminal.

Great advice.... This is too important to leave up to chance