Are you at Risk? Unlicensed Insurance Providers.

[SAM Smith]

Many chapters have never taken the time to have the insurance policies they purchase reviewed by an insurance broker. With costs of insurance rising and the number of unlicensed providers growing, I strongly encourage all chapters to have a certified broker review their policies.

Greek Organizations are considered very high risk and there are very few insurance providers which can offer coverage at the level we require. Therefore, many broker will use unlicensed insurance providers to create the policies that our organizations purchase on an annual basis.

Unlicensed insurance providers are not authorized by the government to sell insurance. They do not submit their financial statement on an annual basis and there is no guarantee that they are financially stable. Since they are not regulated by the government's insurance regulations, there is no guarantee that you will receive coverage when required.

There are thousands of horror stories regarding unlicensed providers which occur throughout North America every year. In case you haven't heard of any, I've attached the following.

Horror Story : http://www.fldfs.com/Consumers/Unlic...0Page/VNR2.wmv


Upon having our policy reviewed by the Financial Services Commission, we found out that 2 of the 3 providers were no licensed in our province. Our broker informed us that in the case of a lawsuit, coverage would not be guaranteed and that we may be held liable for the amount. We have been working with our executive office to resolve this issue.

I recommend that every chapter have their policy reviewed by an insurance broker in your state or province before signing that $20,000 check. By providing a copy of your certificate of insurance to the Financial Services Commission in your state or province, they will help you determine if your providers are licensed and if you are at risk.

Don't have a certificate of insurance? Every chapter is entitled to their certificate. Just ask for a copy from your executive office.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at eightman_smith@hotmail.com.

Good luck.

Alex Smith

PS - I strongly recommend all Canadian chapters look into this matter. There are 20 known international organizations which are using unlicensed providers for their Canadian chapters.