Business News
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- Written by: Community First
It also originated more loans than in any previous year, $356.2 million.
“It was the best of times financially and yet, in some ways, it was the worst of times because COVID made everything so difficult,” said Scott Johnson, CEO of Community First Credit Union.
To help people through the pandemic, Community First waived fees for, among others, late payments and last-minute payments over the phone, helping members by more than $52,000 a month.
It wasn’t until July 1, at mid-year, and with the COVID vaccine finally widely available, that Community First reinstated such fees.
It also wound down the deferral of monthly payments for more than 4,000 consumer loans throughout 2021.
“Additionally, despite a near zero-interest-rate environment on the deposit side, we kept our rates higher than nearly all other local competitors so that Members could continue to earn more,” added Scott.
Members rewarded the cooperative with a nearly $104 million gain in deposits, $89 million jump in loans owned by the credit union, and a $110.4 million rise in assets.
With $761.23 million in assets, Community First now ranks among the top 10% of credit unions by size nationally.
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- Written by: California Insurance Commissioner’s Office
The legislation would help victims recover their losses from sellers of insurance not licensed by the California Department of Insurance to transact insurance.
It addresses common scams such as illegally telemarketed sales of automobile extended warranties to consumers and illegally collected premiums for workers’ compensation insurance from businesses, among other unscrupulous acts on unsuspecting consumers.
SB 1040 would give the Insurance Commissioner the ability to order restitution to consumers from unlicensed sellers of insurance who are breaking California laws, leading to greater repayments to consumers.
The Department of Insurance estimates that unlicensed activity costs Californians millions of dollars every year.
For example, hardworking Californians have paid thousands of dollars for illegally sold extended warranties from unlicensed companies, only to have their claims improperly denied and then having to pay again for expensive repairs. Individual losses of several thousand dollars per victim can add up to massive fraud.
Under current law, the Insurance Commissioner can order unlicensed sellers of insurance to cease and desist and pay a fine of no more than $5,000 per day, but cannot order those unlicensed sellers to repay consumers for losses that they caused, such as direct premium they misappropriated and financial losses that the consumer suffered when they believed they were otherwise covered by insurance.
“We have all gotten robocalls trying to illegally sell us automobile extended warranties but until now my Department’s hands have been tied in trying to order repayment to victims of these illegal insurance scams,” said Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. “SB 1040 will give my Department the ability to order restitution to seniors, consumers, and small businesses who fall prey to unlicensed sellers of insurance, especially during this pandemic.”
“We need to make it easier for victims of insurance scams to get back the money they lost,” said Senator Rubio. “My top priority as chair of the Senate Committee on Insurance is to protect consumers, and insurance fraud can be disastrous for individuals and small businesses. Meanwhile, these scams are constantly getting more sophisticated. I’m proud to work with Insurance Commissioner Lara on SB 1040 to give Californians more power to recover their losses.”
Investigations by the Department of Insurance have revealed numerous instances of insurance premium theft, embezzlement and fraud by unlicensed sellers of insurance specifically targeting vulnerable communities, such as seniors, immigrants and historically underrepresented communities. In many cases, small businesses were left without insurance coverage and business owners’ livelihoods were put at risk.
Some examples of illegal acts by unlicensed sellers of insurance leading to fraud include:
In 2021, a Department of Insurance investigation led to the arrest of an unlicensed insurance agent who provided falsified workers’ compensation certificates and pocketed the premiums, leaving businesses without coverage for worker injuries.
In 2020, the Department of Insurance issued a cease and desist against an unlicensed company that illegally sold automobile extended warranties (also known as “vehicle service contracts”) to more than 1,000 California drivers -- many of them seniors -- for over $2 million.
In 2020, the Department of Insurance issued a cease and desist against an unlicensed Southern California agent after a consumer who thought they had coverage suffered an uninsured $100,000 residential loss.
In 2019, a Department of Insurance investigation led to the arrest of an unlicensed insurance agent for allegedly stealing $174,000 in premiums from truck drivers and charter bus companies.
The Department of Insurance has obtained restitution in some cases, but only through legal settlements. Because, in most cases, consumers must pursue recovery on their own and the obstacles to doing so can be great, most money illegally stolen in unlicensed insurance fraud is never repaid to the aggrieved consumers.
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- Written by: Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce
CLEARLAKE, Calif. — The Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce is currently working on a new web page and will be hosting several events at Highlands Park.
The new board is encouraging a working partnership with our community neighbors and nonprofits to benefit the economic welfare of our south county communities and businesses.
Board members are Tim Biasotti of Biasotti Barbeque; Russ Cremer, retired, Bank of America and Clearlake City Council member; Bob Alderman, owner of Vista Del Largo Resort, Clearlake; Brock Falkenberg, Lake County superintendent of schools; Jamie Yates, dispatcher for AAA; Dan Janakes, Konocti Unified School District financial controller; Joan Jacobs, Keytonia Publishing; Stephanie Codling, retired; Russell Perdock, Adventist Health and Clearlake City Council member; and Denise Loustalot of Big O Tires.
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- Written by: California Insurance Commissioner’s Office
The FAIR Plan is an association made up of all admitted insurance companies to be the state’s property “insurer of last resort.”
“Agriculture is critical to our continued economic recovery. That’s why when leaders in this sector first shared their challenges in getting insurance coverage, we listened. We worked with Sen. Rubio, legislative leaders and the governor to pass SB 11 to help address these issues,” said Commissioner Lara. “The department of Insurance is changing how the FAIR Plan operates as part of a broader solution to help protect these businesses, especially those vulnerable to climate-intensified wildfires.”
Following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signing of Senate Bill 11 authored by Sen. Susan Rubio, the State Legislature and the California Department of Insurance have urged the FAIR Plan to act as promptly as possible.
Not wanting to add to the FAIR Plan’s delays, the department, in its approval letter, noted some additional commercial coverage issues overall that the FAIR Plan must resolve at a later date as the department reviews the FAIR Plan’s entire commercial property insurance program in the months ahead to ensure it truly “takes all comers.”
“Helping consumers hurt by devastating wildfires has been my top priority as Chair of the Senate Insurance Committee,” said Sen. Susan Rubio, author of SB 11. “I am happy to see the Department of Insurance implement legislation I passed to protect California farmers and their workers.”
California’s farmers, ranchers, and vintners, among other agricultural businesses, live and work in more rural, outlying areas that may be especially vulnerable to wildfires.
This makes having more and better options for insurance coverage critical to these businesses’ ability to operate and thrive in their communities.
Department of Insurance data shows that some agricultural businesses have been left without coverage by insurance companies.
“This approval means California’s FAIR Plan can do its job and add much-needed protection for those farmers and ranchers that have found their insurance policies canceled or non-renewed. Given the current wildfire challenges facing California, our agricultural community is fearful of what may happen this year without this additional coverage,” said Jamie Johansson, president of the California Farm Bureau Federation. “We thank Commissioner Lara for supporting and expediting this new coverage and Senator Rubio for championing this legislation to protect California’s farmers and ranchers. We know that we have a leader in Commissioner Lara to get things done and look forward to continuing to partner with him on long-term coverage solutions for California’s agricultural community.”
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