By: Matt Scher, matts@977thebolt.com
The Iowa Insurance Division is warning job seekers, insurance professionals and consumers about an active, multi-state scam involving insurance licensing credentials and identity theft.
According to the Iowa Insurance Division, scammers are contacting prospective insurance producers with unsolicited job offers. Victims are encouraged to obtain a resident insurance producer license and are promised that the company will handle lead generation, policy sales and administrative duties.
Once the individual becomes licensed, scammers allegedly obtain the person’s personal credentials and National Producer Number, or NPN, under the pretense of helping manage insurance policies.
The division says the scammers, who often operate from offshore locations, can then use the producer’s NPN to issue unauthorized health and life insurance policies. Consumer information may be altered to improperly obtain commissions and federal Advanced Premium Tax Credits through the Affordable Care Act marketplace.
The Iowa Insurance Division says licensed producers should never surrender their NPN or allow a third party to write or manage policies under their name. Doing so could expose producers to legal liability, license revocation and potential criminal fraud charges.
Employers and hiring managers are also being encouraged to carefully review new producers’ licensing credentials and watch for unusual policy activity or connections to offshore administrative operations. Consumers should be alert for unexpected insurance policy documents, premium bills or tax notices involving coverage they never requested.
Anyone who is contacted with this type of job arrangement or believes their insurance licensing credentials have been compromised can contact the Iowa Insurance Division at 515-654-6556. Suspected activity can also be reported through the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Online Fraud Reporting System at ofrs.naic.org.
The Iowa Insurance Division is encouraging insurance professionals and consumers to share the warning to help protect job seekers and prevent further fraudulent activity.