Press Releases
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Morgan Winters Confirmed as Get Covered Illinois Director
Springfield–The Illinois State Senate confirmed the appointment of Morgan Winters as the Director of Get Covered Illinois. Get Covered Illinois, a division of the Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI), is the official Health Insurance Marketplace for Illinois consumers to purchase quality, affordable health coverage. Get Covered Illinois is transitioning to become a fully independent State-Based Marketplace for plan year 2026.
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IEMA-OHS Commemorates 100th Anniversary of the Deadliest Tornado in Illinois
Springfield – On March 18, 1925, the deadliest tornado in U.S. history tore through southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, and southwest Indiana, leaving a 219-mile path of destruction.
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Chicago – The last day of Open Enrollment for the Get Covered Illinois Health Insurance Marketplace is Wednesday, January 15th.
Illinois Department of Insurance fines former Berkshire Hathaway companies 250-thousand dollars for selling unapproved workers' comp policies to small businesses
Chicago - The Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI) fined Continental Indemnity Company and Applied Underwriters, Inc. for overcharging some Illinois small businesses for workers' compensation insurance. The Department conducted a market conduct examination in 2019 and found that the companies marketed and sold unapproved workers' compensation policies, packaged with side agreements, in violation of the law.
Continental Indemnity Company and Applied Underwriters Inc., both subsidiaries of Berkshire Hathaway at the time of the investigation, were selling a workers' comp product with an unlawful side agreement that changed the obligations of the employer under the policy. The companies sold Reinsurance Participation Agreements (RPAs) as part of its workers comp insurance to small businesses without approval from IDOI. The Department found that the companies' packaging of RPAs with workers' comp insurance mislead policyholders into assuming all of the risk, effectively insuring themselves, and resulted in policyholders paying more for the reinsurance part of the package than for the workers comp policy itself.
Furthermore, the RPAs lacked standard information about premium amounts, used complex and confusing calculations for costs, including deposits and premiums due, charged penalties for cancellations and required arbitration for policyholders to free themselves from the agreement.
The exam also cited an instance of Continental Indemnity Company's failure to follow underwriting guidelines with a standard workers' comp policy which resulted in a premium overcharge of $8,310.09.
"Small business owners who follow the rules and purchase workers' comp insurance to protect their employees should not be overcharged in a complex scheme that mislabels a side agreement as insurance" said IDOI Director Robert Muriel. "Continental Indemnity and Applied Underwriters sought to side-step regulatory oversight, and this fine serves as notice to companies that we're here to protect Illinois' small businesses and properly regulate insurance products sold in this state."
Continental Indemnity Company and Applied Underwriters, Inc. are no longer selling the RPAs in Illinois, and as part of the settlement the companies agreed to file any new insurance products and rates with IDOI. The companies also paid fines for selling similar products in other states, including California, New Jersey and New York.
The Market Conduct Exam for Continental Indemnity Company can be found here:
https://insurance.illinois.gov/MarketConductExam/marketConductExamPC.html
Press Releases
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Illinois DCFS receives $9,200 and hundreds of childcare items from Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.
CHICAGO – Tonight, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) will join Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.’s Centennial Regional Conference at McCormick Place in Chicago to accept a donation of $9,200 and hundreds of onesies, bottles, diapers, wipes and other childcare items.
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Illinois EPA Announces Expansion and Modernization of Vehicle Emissions Testing Network
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) Acting Director James Jennings today announced updates to the Illinois Vehicle Emissions Testing Program, which include the reopening of the Forest Preserve Drive location in Chicago beginning Monday, March 17.
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SPRINGFIELD – Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site’s annual spring Native American Market featuring arts and crafts by more than 30 tribal-affiliated artists from across North America will take place April 5-6 at the Collinsville VFW, 1234 Vandalia St.