Greedy Trial Lawyer
Double-Dipping Has Many Names
Category: The Latest Baddest
Double-dipping is the subject of a post at InsureBlog.
Briefly, several agents (and agencies) agreed to help local school districts shop for their group insurance. They were paid a fee by these public entities, and charged with finding the best plans at the most attractive rates. Unbeknownst to the school districts, the agents were also paid commissions (and apparently bonuses) by the carriers, essentially getting paid twice for the same work. When the districts found out, they cried foul, and the agents now face disciplinary action (if not firing squads) by the State of Ohio.
Firing squads may not be appropriate, but maybe a public lashing is. If public money is received to perform a service no other money should be sought or paid as compensation. Of course, the public entity should be prudent enough to include a prohibition of outside compensation, bonuses, fees or free trips to golf resorts.
But, prohibitions need to be as creative as the agents who, apparently, have quite a vocabulary when talking about double-dipping.
...allegedly, one of the agents demanded extra compensation from the carrier, and requested "that the payments not be called commissions (his contract with the district prohibited commissions) but rather be an "override, or some other form, like consulting."
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