Find information to help consumers with insurance, securities and investments, or other products the Iowa Insurance Division regulates as well as filing complaints with the Iowa Insurance Division.
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- Iowa Insurance Commissioner Joins with CFTC to Charge Precious Metals Dealers in $185 Million Scheme Targeting Elderly Investors
- Consumer Connection: Flu Shots and Medicare
- Iowa Insurance Division Files Charges in Connection with Unauthorized Health Care Plan Offerings in Iowa
- Iowa Insurance Division Awarded $100,000 Grant to Strengthen Employee Financial Wellness Program
- Consumer Connection: September is Life Insurance Awareness Month
- New Location for Iowa Insurance Division
Iowa Insurance Commissioner Joins with CFTC to Charge Precious Metals Dealers in $185 Million Scheme Targeting Elderly Investors
Des Moines, Iowa – The Iowa Insurance Commissioner announced today the participation in a consolidated nationwide enforcement action to halt a fraudulent precious metals scheme that has solicited $185 million from at least 1,600 seniors and other investors.
The Iowa Insurance Commissioner announced today that he has joined the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and 29 other states in filing a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas alleging Metals.com and Barrick Capital Inc. defendants solicited $185 million from seniors and other vulnerable investors nationwide by touting precious metals at grossly inflated prices that were not disclosed.
“The defendants had a reckless disregard for the truth by failing to disclose that virtually every investor lost the majority of their funds in the investments the firm was peddling,” Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen said. “They capitalized on investor fear of market instability and economic uncertainty. Investors suffered substantial losses from retirement savings by relying on the false representations made by the defendants and their sales representatives.”
Consumer Connection: Flu Shots and Medicare
 By Kristin Griffith, Director for SHIIP/SMP The 2020 flu season will soon be here. Like every year, the flu will be best contained when as many people as possible get a flu vaccine. This is especially important this year as our health systems continues to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. You can contract the flu at any time during the year, but the rates of the illness increase throughout the fall into the early spring months. While some people infected with an influenza virus might have only mild symptoms, for others the virus is deadly. The flu kills thousands of people each year. The flu vaccine is available every year, but too few people take advantage of it. Last year only 45% of Americans got a flu shot. This year, flu season hits while COVID-19 is still a major threat. Telling the two infections apart is challenging as the symptoms are quite similar, including fever, cough, shortness of breath, and fatigue. That’s why getting your flu shot is so important this year. Not every person can safely get a flu shot, and everyone should consult with their health care provider before getting vaccinated. If you can, it is important to get vaccinated as it reduces the risk of getting sick and cuts down on transmission from person to person. Most people with Medicare will pay nothing for a flu shot. If you are enrolled in Original Medicare, you pay nothing for your flu shot if your doctor or health care provider accepts assignment for giving the shot. Medicare Advantage Plans also cover flu shots without applying deductibles, copayments, or coinsurance when you see an in-network provider. Check with your health insurance provider before getting any vaccine to understand the costs. And, depending on when you choose to get your flu shot, Medicare Part B may cover a flu shot twice in one calendar year. For example, if you got a shot in January 2020 for the 2019/2020 flu season, you could still get another shot in October 2020 for the 2020/2021 flu season. You can call SHIIP--SMP at 1-800-351-4664 with questions about your Medicare benefits or Medicare Fraud and abuse issues or concerns. SHIIP—SMP is a service of the State of Iowa Insurance Division. ### |
Iowa Insurance Division Files Charges in Connection with Unauthorized Health Care Plan Offerings in Iowa
DES MOINES, IOWA - The Iowa Insurance Division’s Enforcement Bureau recently filed a statement of charges against Trinity Healthshare Inc. and The Aliera Companies.
According to the statement of charges, Respondent Trinity, purportedly operating as a health care sharing ministry, acted as an unauthorized insurer by offering health care insurance products to Iowa consumers which were not approved for sale in Iowa. It is alleged that Aliera marketed, offered, sold, and administered these plans on behalf of Trinity without being appropriately licensed. Both Aliera and Trinity are alleged to have utilized unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the offer and sale of these health care products.
Iowa Insurance Division Awarded $100,000 Grant to Strengthen Employee Financial Wellness Program
The Grant is Part of a New National Initiative Supported by the Wells Fargo Foundation in Collaboration with the Center for State and Local Government Excellence, the International Public Management Association for Human Resources and National Association of State Treasurers’ Foundation
DES MOINES, IOWA, SEPTEMBER 16, 2020 – The Iowa Insurance Division has been awarded a $100,000 grant to enhance its financial wellness programs for state of Iowa employees and retirees.
Funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation, this one-year grant comes at a time when many of the nearly 19 million state and local government employees across the U.S. continue to serve on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many governments are also confronting unprecedented budget shortfalls, and workers are increasingly concerned about family finances.
This grant is structured as a collaboration between the Center For State and Local Government Excellence (SLGE), The International Public Management Association For Human Resources (IPMA-HR) and the National Association of State Treasurers’ Foundation (NASTF) and Wells Fargo. A total of 24 state and local government jurisdictions were awarded grants.
In a recent national poll conducted by SLGE, 56 percent of state and local public employees reported that their family has been negatively impacted financially by the crisis, and more than half are worried about their family finances, losing their job, furloughs, and pay and benefit reductions. During the one-year initiative, the Iowa Insurance Division will enhance a microsite to include 400 financial literacy courses for state employees. The microsite promotes the goal of retirement security through various financial literacy principles.
Consumer Connection: September is Life Insurance Awareness Month
By Sonya Sellmeyer, Consumer Advocacy Officer for the Iowa Insurance Division
September is Life Insurance Awareness Month and there is no better time than the present to make sure that finances are in order. In order to help with that, and since insurance is complicated, the Iowa Insurance Division works with EverFi to help ensure students and their families have tools to better understand important financial literacy and insurance concepts. The importance is real. Nearly one in three families said they would face financial challenges within a month if the primary wage earner died.
Life insurance pays a death benefit when you die to your named beneficiaries. Life insurance can be a safety net to avoid challenging times if a loved one who contributed earnings to a household passes away unexpectedly. You may use the payout to help cover funeral expenses, mortgage payments or rent, daily living expenses, college tuition, outstanding loans, and uncovered medical bills. It may also help preserve generational wealth. You may pick more than one beneficiary with different percentage payouts, or you may even designate a charity or church to receive the benefits. You will also pick a contingent beneficiary just in case the primary beneficiary has passed when the policy is paid out.
New Location for Iowa Insurance Division
The Iowa Insurance Division is moving locations. As of August 21, 2020, the address for the Iowa Insurance Divsion is:
Iowa Insurance Division
1963 Bell Avenue, Suite 100
Des Moines, Iowa 50315
Iowa Insurance Commissioner Joins with CFTC to Charge Precious Metals Dealers in $185 Million Scheme Targeting Elderly Investors
Des Moines, Iowa – The Iowa Insurance Commissioner announced today the participation in a consolidated nationwide enforcement action to halt a fraudulent precious metals scheme that has solicited $185 million from at least 1,600 seniors and other investors.
The Iowa Insurance Commissioner announced today that he has joined the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and 29 other states in filing a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas alleging Metals.com and Barrick Capital Inc. defendants solicited $185 million from seniors and other vulnerable investors nationwide by touting precious metals at grossly inflated prices that were not disclosed.
“The defendants had a reckless disregard for the truth by failing to disclose that virtually every investor lost the majority of their funds in the investments the firm was peddling,” Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen said. “They capitalized on investor fear of market instability and economic uncertainty. Investors suffered substantial losses from retirement savings by relying on the false representations made by the defendants and their sales representatives.”
Consumer Connection: Flu Shots and Medicare
By Kristin Griffith, Director for SHIIP/SMP The 2020 flu season will soon be here. Like every year, the flu will be best contained when as many people as possible get a flu vaccine. This is especially important this year as our health systems continues to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. You can contract the flu at any time during the year, but the rates of the illness increase throughout the fall into the early spring months. While some people infected with an influenza virus might have only mild symptoms, for others the virus is deadly. The flu kills thousands of people each year. The flu vaccine is available every year, but too few people take advantage of it. Last year only 45% of Americans got a flu shot. This year, flu season hits while COVID-19 is still a major threat. Telling the two infections apart is challenging as the symptoms are quite similar, including fever, cough, shortness of breath, and fatigue. That’s why getting your flu shot is so important this year. Not every person can safely get a flu shot, and everyone should consult with their health care provider before getting vaccinated. If you can, it is important to get vaccinated as it reduces the risk of getting sick and cuts down on transmission from person to person. Most people with Medicare will pay nothing for a flu shot. If you are enrolled in Original Medicare, you pay nothing for your flu shot if your doctor or health care provider accepts assignment for giving the shot. Medicare Advantage Plans also cover flu shots without applying deductibles, copayments, or coinsurance when you see an in-network provider. Check with your health insurance provider before getting any vaccine to understand the costs. And, depending on when you choose to get your flu shot, Medicare Part B may cover a flu shot twice in one calendar year. For example, if you got a shot in January 2020 for the 2019/2020 flu season, you could still get another shot in October 2020 for the 2020/2021 flu season. You can call SHIIP--SMP at 1-800-351-4664 with questions about your Medicare benefits or Medicare Fraud and abuse issues or concerns. SHIIP—SMP is a service of the State of Iowa Insurance Division. ### |
Iowa Insurance Division Files Charges in Connection with Unauthorized Health Care Plan Offerings in Iowa
DES MOINES, IOWA - The Iowa Insurance Division’s Enforcement Bureau recently filed a statement of charges against Trinity Healthshare Inc. and The Aliera Companies.
According to the statement of charges, Respondent Trinity, purportedly operating as a health care sharing ministry, acted as an unauthorized insurer by offering health care insurance products to Iowa consumers which were not approved for sale in Iowa. It is alleged that Aliera marketed, offered, sold, and administered these plans on behalf of Trinity without being appropriately licensed. Both Aliera and Trinity are alleged to have utilized unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the offer and sale of these health care products.
Iowa Insurance Division Awarded $100,000 Grant to Strengthen Employee Financial Wellness Program
The Grant is Part of a New National Initiative Supported by the Wells Fargo Foundation in Collaboration with the Center for State and Local Government Excellence, the International Public Management Association for Human Resources and National Association of State Treasurers’ Foundation
DES MOINES, IOWA, SEPTEMBER 16, 2020 – The Iowa Insurance Division has been awarded a $100,000 grant to enhance its financial wellness programs for state of Iowa employees and retirees.
Funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation, this one-year grant comes at a time when many of the nearly 19 million state and local government employees across the U.S. continue to serve on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many governments are also confronting unprecedented budget shortfalls, and workers are increasingly concerned about family finances.
This grant is structured as a collaboration between the Center For State and Local Government Excellence (SLGE), The International Public Management Association For Human Resources (IPMA-HR) and the National Association of State Treasurers’ Foundation (NASTF) and Wells Fargo. A total of 24 state and local government jurisdictions were awarded grants.
In a recent national poll conducted by SLGE, 56 percent of state and local public employees reported that their family has been negatively impacted financially by the crisis, and more than half are worried about their family finances, losing their job, furloughs, and pay and benefit reductions. During the one-year initiative, the Iowa Insurance Division will enhance a microsite to include 400 financial literacy courses for state employees. The microsite promotes the goal of retirement security through various financial literacy principles.
Consumer Connection: September is Life Insurance Awareness Month
By Sonya Sellmeyer, Consumer Advocacy Officer for the Iowa Insurance Division
September is Life Insurance Awareness Month and there is no better time than the present to make sure that finances are in order. In order to help with that, and since insurance is complicated, the Iowa Insurance Division works with EverFi to help ensure students and their families have tools to better understand important financial literacy and insurance concepts. The importance is real. Nearly one in three families said they would face financial challenges within a month if the primary wage earner died.
Life insurance pays a death benefit when you die to your named beneficiaries. Life insurance can be a safety net to avoid challenging times if a loved one who contributed earnings to a household passes away unexpectedly. You may use the payout to help cover funeral expenses, mortgage payments or rent, daily living expenses, college tuition, outstanding loans, and uncovered medical bills. It may also help preserve generational wealth. You may pick more than one beneficiary with different percentage payouts, or you may even designate a charity or church to receive the benefits. You will also pick a contingent beneficiary just in case the primary beneficiary has passed when the policy is paid out.
New Location for Iowa Insurance Division
The Iowa Insurance Division is moving locations. As of August 21, 2020, the address for the Iowa Insurance Divsion is:
Iowa Insurance Division
1963 Bell Avenue, Suite 100
Des Moines, Iowa 50315