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August 2005

State: Florida

Area of Interest: Loxahatchee Woman Arrested for Faking Death to Collect on Life Insurance Policy

Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher today announced the arrest of a Loxahatchee woman who faked her death in Jamaica to collect on a $260,000 life insurance policy. Golden Marie Vasquez, also known as Golden Marie Cox and Golden Marie Ramdeen, was arrested Friday by investigators from the Department of Financial Services’ Division of Insurance Fraud. Vasquez is charged with one count each of insurance fraud, forgery and theft over $100,000. She faces up to 15 years in prison and a $25,000 fine if convicted.

Vasquez bought a $60,000 life insurance policy in 1996 and then bought an additional policy with $200,000 in benefits in 2000.Both policies were with Prudential Insurance Company. In June of 2003 a death claim was filed with Prudential Insurance alleging that Golden Marie Ramdeen was killed in a motor vehicle accident in Jamaica, on the date of March 26, 2003. Prudential received a Jamaican death certificate, a bogus police report from the Jamaican constabulary and a death benefits claim form. The beneficiary of this policy was her ex-husband Jerry Ramdeen. Prudential refused payment for the claim and it was referred to the Division of Insurance Fraud in June of 2004.

Investigators first determined that Golden Marie Ramdeen was not deceased. She divorced from Jerry Ramdeen in February of 2003. She obtained a new Florida driver license on March 25, 2003; the day before she supposedly died in Jamaica, in her maiden name of Golden Marie Cox. Jerry Ramdeen filed with the Broward courts for a legal name change on April 16, 2003, just 21 days after his ex-wife’s alleged demise. Then Golden Marie Cox and Jerry Vasquez married again on July 11, 2003 to become Mr. Jerry Vasquez and Mrs. Golden Marie Vasquez.

It was further discovered that Golden Ramdeen was the probable writer of the death claims request form. In addition, four fingerprints were developed and identified as belonging to Golden Marie Ramdeen on the death claim and benefits forms, leading to the arrest.

Source: State of Florida

Area of Interest: New Workers Compensation Rate is Approved For 2005-2006

Superintendent Howard Mills approved on July 15, 2005 a 5 percent increase in the average workers’ compensation rate for one year beginning Oct. 1, 2005. The decision comes in the wake of the New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board’s (CIRB) request for a 16.1 rate increase, which was the subject of a June 27, 2005 public hearing. The CIRB serves as the advisory rate service organization for workers’ compensation in New York State. All workers’ compensation insurers must send statistics to the CIRB, which compiles and evaluates data and proposes rate changes that are subject to the Insurance Department’s prior approval.

Source: State of New York

State: New Jersey

Area of Interest: MIIX Insurance Confirms Schedule for Payment of Settlement Offers

Banking and Insurance Acting Commissioner Donald Bryan today announced that medical malpractice liability insurer MIIX Insurance Company will continue operating in solvent runoff, a financial condition it has operated in since 2002. Acting Commissioner Bryan also announced that upon approval by the Court, the Department will make payments to claimants who had accepted MIIX's settlement offers beginning Sept. 7.

In a solvent runoff, the Department determines that a carrier has enough funds to pay off claims from existing policies but should not continue taking on new customers. MIIX Insurance is currently operating under an Order approved in February by Judge Neil Shuster of the Superior Court of Mercer County , Chancery Division. Part of the Order included placing a stay on litigation until meritorious claims could be settled. In May, MIIX made offers of settlement to all meritorious claimants in an attempt to avoid entering liquidation. A majority of those receiving offers accepted them.

Today's announcement signals the expectation that MIIX will continue in solvent runoff instead of entering liquidation. Under New Jersey law, claims of a company liquidated as insolvent are referred to the Property-Liability Insurance Guaranty Association (PLIGA), where coverage is limited to $300,000 per claim.

MIIX stopped writing new policies in 2002 and was placed under the control of the Department in 2004. As of October 2004, MIIX had a negative surplus of approximately $306 million. At that time, assets were approximately $550 million and liabilities were estimated in excess of $856 million.

Source: State of New Jersey

State: Florida

Area of Interest: Father/Son Charged with Worker’s Compensation Fraud

A father and his son are facing workers’ compensation fraud charges for allegedly not having the required workers’ compensation coverage for employees, resulting in more than $1 million in evaded premiums.

The arrests on Wednesday were the result of an investigation by the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Fraud.

John J. Reaves, Jr., 63, allegedly knew that his son, Shawn, 32, operator of O’Hara supplies, did not have workers’ compensation coverage for his employees, who provided labor for two companies owned by the elder Reaves, Southeast Enterprise Group and JR Deck Systems.

FCCI insured SE Enterprise Group and JR Deck Systems Inc., but incurred losses attributable to employees of O’Hara Supplies.

If convicted they each could face up to 30 years in prison. The case will be tried in Duval County by the Statewide Prosecutor’s Office in the Fourth Judicial Circuit of Florida. FCCI learned about O’Hara Supplies through audits and forwarded the information to DFS, alleging that Reaves’ company owes them $1,000,036 for premiums that have not been paid.

Source: State of Florida

State: Pennsylvania

Area of Interest: Insurance Department Concludes Findings on Medical Malpractice Insurance Capacity

Insurance Commissioner Diane Koken today issued a report on the ability of the current medical malpractice marketplace to offer an additional $250,000 of coverage for health care providers in Pennsylvania. Based on the market analysis, Koken has concluded that there is not sufficient capacity to shift a greater proportion of medical malpractice coverage to the private market from the state Mcare Fund.

Health care providers in Pennsylvania are required to carry $1 million worth of medical malpractice insurance, the first 50 percent from a private insurance company and the remaining 50 percent from the state’s run Mcare Fund. Current law mandates that the limits be increased unless the Insurance Commissioner concludes that there is not adequate additional capacity.

The law proposes that, if the market could bear, the primary layer would increase and the Mcare layer would decrease. The law proposed that the next step would be 75 percent – or $750,000 – of coverage would come from the private market and 25 percent -- or $250,000 – would be covered from the state fund. Eventually, if the market had the capacity, medical malpractice coverage would be provided entirely through the private market.

Source: State of Pennsylvania

State: Texas

Area of Interest: TDI Fines Company for Unauthorized Title Work

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) recently fined an Arlington company $150,000 for conducting the business of title insurance without authorization to do so. The fine against Ameristar Title and Errol V. Housmans represents the fourth largest penalty levied by the Department for a title violation.

The violation stems from an arrangement between Title Texas, a licensed title company, and Stewart B. Hoge, a licensed fee attorney, in which Hoge contracted out various title services to Ameristar Title Management, Ltd., which was not licensed to perform title insurance business. Employees of Ameristar, owned by Errol V. Housmans, performed services such as closing transactions, signing commitments and escrow checks. As such Ameristar engaged in the unauthorized practice of insurance, a violation of the Texas Insurance Code.

In addition, the escrow officer's applications misrepresented the employment status of the applicants, in that the applications asserted the applicants were bona fide employees of a licensed attorney (Hoge), when in fact they were employees of Ameristar.

Title insurance is subject to strict regulation in Texas. Title agents and escrow officers must be licensed and are subject to strict reporting requirements. The department is continuing to investigate the other parties involved.

Source: State of Texas

State: Louisiana

Area of Interest OSHA Fines Exide Technologies $356,700 Following Fatality Investigation

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued citations and proposed penalties totaling $356,700 against Exide Technologies Inc. for 38 alleged safety and health violations. The citations follow investigation of a Jan. 18 accident in which an employee of the Baton Rouge company was killed while trying to manually clear a jammed conveyor without appropriate safety precautions.

One willful citation was issued for deficiencies in energy control practices related to the fatality. These lockout-tagout procedures render machinery inoperable during maintenance and repair. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with an intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

A total of 24 serious citations were issued for hazards related to industrial trucks, housekeeping, stairs, guardrails, energy control procedures, unguarded machines, electrical equipment, hazardous waste, emergency response, confined space entry, lead contamination, cadmium exposure, bloodborne pathogens and lack of employee training. A serious violation is a condition where there is a substantial possibility that death or serious physical harm can result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

Ten repeat violations involved hazards related to unsafe floors, cranes, machine guarding, electrical equipment, lead exposure and lead contamination. A repeat violation occurs when an employer has been cited previously for a substantially similar violation. Three other-than-serious citations noted deficiencies in respiratory protection and lead and cadmium exposure.

Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration

State: New Jersey

Area of Interest: OSHA Fines Perth Amboy Company $237,600 Following Fatal Explosion

The U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Acetylene Service Company, Perth Amboy, N.J. for alleged safety and health violations after a January explosion killed three workers. Proposed penalties total $237,600.

The company is a subsidiary of Acetylene Supply Company Inc., headquartered in Woodbridge, N.J. The Perth Amboy site employs 15 workers to fill, re-qualify and recondition acetylene cylinders.

OSHA initiated its investigation Jan. 25 in response to a report from Perth Amboy police. The agency's citations against the company alleged three willful violations with $126,000 in proposed penalties and 37 serious violations with $111,600 in proposed penalties.

The willful citations were issued for failure to: update process hazard analysis; perform inspections and tests on covered processes to maintain mechanical integrity, and maintain required documentation about inspections and testing of equipment.

Serious violations included failure to: design, construct and test the acetylene system; assure safe, sealed storage of gasoline; provide proper storage of flammable gases and liquids, and provide safe storage and use of a portable propane heater inside the production building.

Serious citations also were issued for the following deficiencies: inadequate inspection and servicing of fire extinguishers; lack of clear space around a paint spray booth and proper ventilation during mixing of flammable paints; failing to address human factors that create worksite hazards; not conducting all appropriate testing before workers enter a permit-required confined space; failing to identify specific equipment covered in the lockout/tag-out program, a process that prohibits inadvertent start-up of machines, and lack of hazard communication training.

Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Area of Interest: OSHA Issues Alert on the Dangers Associated with Cleanup and Recovery from Hurricanes

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today urged employers and workers to take appropriate safety measures to avoid injury and illnesses associated with the recovery and cleanup efforts following hurricanes.

The potential for fatal accidents involving electrocution from power lines, as well as serious injuries associated with cleanup and recovery efforts, have prompted the agency to remind employers, workers and the public to ensure that they observe appropriate safety and health precautions while performing cleanup and utility restoration operations. This includes coordinating with control centers responsible for power circuits so that workers do not enter areas where there are live wires.

Information on avoiding hazards and safely cleaning up after a hurricane is available from OSHA to help workers who are involved in recovery and restoration efforts. Fact sheets on issues and hazards relating to recovery and cleanup efforts following hurricanes are available on the agency's Natural Disaster Recovery page.

Source: Occupational Safety and Health Administration

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