Insurance policies issued to Texas podiatrists will be canceled on April 21, 1997. Policyholders will be offered premium refunds. TDI will control the language of the notices and monitor the refunds to assure they are paid. About 10 Texas podiatrists are known believed to have bought insurance through the group. They are in Houston, Friendswood, Lake Jackson, Dallas, Duncanville, El Paso and Big Spring.
None is licensed or otherwise eligible to sell insurance in Texas.
All agreed to the order and acknowledged that their conduct violated the Texas Insurance Code, which prohibits unauthorized insurance. Bomer ordered Pacific Rim last year to stop selling insurance in Texas without a license. Unlicensed insurers that try to come in the back door without meeting our standards can pose a real danger to policyholders and claimants. We were fortunate this time to catch up with an unauthorized operation before it developed much Texas business. To the best of our knowledge, no podiatrist or patient has suffered economic harm from this operation.