Viatical & Life Settlements
consumer information
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
|
|
We do not buy
To
Order Books
In sympathy |
Page & Assoc. charged with Fraud
January 22, 2003: The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) charged Fort Lauderdale-based Page & Associates, Inc. with fraud, and threatened suspension or revocation of the company's viatical provider license. Page & Associates, which also does business as The Lifeline Program, purchases life insurance policies from people who are terminally ill or elderly and resells the viaticated policies to investors. According to OIR director Kevin McCarty, the company overcharged and misled hundreds of investors who allegedly were required to pay premiums to keep the policies in force, when no provision in any agreement between the company and purchasers authorized such charges. The administrative complaint also alleged that 31 investors who requested investment periods ranging from 12 months to 48 months were invested in one policy, with conflicting life expectancy reports provided to these investors. As a result, the complaint alleges, investors were misled about the expected return. The complaint also alleges that Page purchased policies from 3 viators who lied about their medical conditions on life insurance applications in order to get coverage. In response to the complaint, on January 23 Page & Associates released the following statement: "Page & Associates denies all allegations presented in the Jan. 22, 2003 media release issued by the Florida Department of Insurance and will vigorously defend ourselves to protect our reputation against these false allegations. Our legal counsel, the law firm Holland & Knight, has prepared our response and we plan to hand deliver it to the department early next week. Page & Associates, Inc. has been a leader in promoting ethical business practices and viatical regulation since 1989. We were the first viatical company licensed by the Florida Department of Insurance in 1997 and the first to file an Anti-Fraud Plan in 1999. Wm. Scott Page, President C.E.O. Update June 2003: Page & Associates settled with the Department. Update August 2005: Page and Lifeline agree to surrender their Florida viatical license and leave the state. The company relocated to Georgia. |
|
© 1998 -
2008 Bialkin Books, publisher of viatical books banned in Texas and Florida |
