Aetna fined $1M for issuing unapproved disability, life insurance

January 2, 2013 | By Dina Overland

Aetna has been fined $1 million by the Washington state insurance department because it has issued more than 7,000 health, disability and life insurance policies that failed to meet state requirements.

Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler said Aetna sold many of its policies to out-of-state employers or through out-of-state trusts. Others didn't include certain coverage mandated by state law, didn't refer to the state appeals and grievance process or failed to obtain approval for rates and benefits, The Seattle Times reported.

Because these policies didn't comply with state law, Kreidler's office asserted they were never official and even introduced significant risk to consumers of these health plans, reported Live Insurance News.

"All insurers must comply with state law, and most of them do," Kreidler said in a statement. "I hope that this fine and compliance plan resolves these problems with Aetna."

Aetna agreed to the fine and said it will work to resolve the identified problems.

To learn more:
- here are Kriedler's statement and consent order (.pdf)
- read the Seattle Times article
- check out the Live Insurance News article