Topics Related to NCDOI

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced the arrest of Luis Carlos Castano, 41, of 3908 Lake Meadow Drive, Jamestown. Castano was charged with felony insurance fraud, felony obtaining property by false pretense, and misdemeanor making a false report to a police station.

Special agents with the Department of Insurance's Criminal Investigations Division accuse Castano of falsely telling State Farm Automobile Insurance Co. that his 2005 Honda was stolen from 412 E. Hill St., Graham, when he had actually hidden the vehicle at 4426 N. Old 52 Road, Pinnacle.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced that Racine Lanette McCullough, 33 of 180 BPW Club Road M8, Carrboro, has been charged with a misdemeanor count of insurance application misrepresentation.

Special agents with the Department of Insurance’s Criminal Investigations Division accuse McCullough of applying for an auto insurance policy with Progressive Casualty Insurance Co. after an accident and stating that there had been no loss to her vehicle. The statement was aimed at obtaining money that she was not due, according to a criminal summons.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced the arrest of Roy Payton Warren Jr., 69, of 114 Partridge Road, Wilmington. Warren is charged with felony embezzlement by an insurance agent.

Special agents accuse Warren, while a licensed insurance agent working for Allstate Insurance Co., of embezzling $15,093 from multiple victims from March 4, 2011, through Sept. 6, 2012.

New Hanover sheriff's deputies arrested Warren on Sept. 4. He was placed under $7,500 secured bond.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced the arrest of Deshon Tarez Oakes, 26, of 449 W. 24th St., Winston-Salem. Oakes was charged with felony insurance fraud and felony attempting to obtain property by false pretenses.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced that Medicare beneficiaries impacted by Hurricane Florence have been granted an extended Special Enrollment Period (SEP) to sign up for 2019 benefits.

This extended period gives beneficiaries an extra month to enroll in a Medicare health or prescription drug plan due to the unforeseen circumstances that accompany a natural disaster.

Have you received your new Medicare card? If you haven't, North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey advises senior citizens to contact Medicare, either by phone or online, to check on the status of their new card.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has finished a round of mailing out new cards to North Carolinians. The Seniors' Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) and North Carolina Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) encourage Medicare beneficiaries who haven't received their new card to contact CMS by:

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey is proud to announce a joint venture with High Point University that allows college students to earn “real life” work experience and college credit while also benefitting North Carolinian's seniors with their Medicare coverage.

Over the course of the next month, High Point University Fred Wilson School of Pharmacy students will counsel Medicare recipients in an effort to help them choose the best plan at the lowest cost. All of this will take place through the Medicare Open Enrollment period, which runs Oct. 15 through Dec. 7.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey today announced that a Lenoir County woman who filed 287 fraudulent cancer insurance claims was sentenced to 44 to 65 months in prison after pleading guilty to false pretense charges stemming from an investigation by special agents by the department's Criminal Investigations Division.

Susan Leigh Huebotter, 60, of 912 Joshua Creek Road, Deep Run, was also ordered to pay $231,306.25 in restitution to Aflac Insurance Co.

Officials with the N.C. Department of Insurance remind residents that Open Enrollment for the 2019 Federal Health Insurance Exchange begins Thursday, November 1, 2018 and runs through December 15, 2018 for coverage to start January 1, 2019.

"It is imperative consumers who do not have health insurance elsewhere take part in Open Enrollment to make sure they choose the best insurance plan to meet their needs and to determine if they qualify for tax subsidies, which can offset premium costs," said Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey.

In recognition of National Teen Driver Safety Week (October 21-27, 2018), Insurance Commissioner and Safe Kids NC Chairman Mike Causey urges teens and their families to discuss smart strategies for staying safe behind the wheel.

Motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of death for American teenagers.

Most of those crashes are the result of inexperienced teen drivers taking risks such as not using their seatbelt, texting, driving with teen passengers, speeding, driving under the influence or driving in the dark.