Louisiana agent suspended for falsifying information, misappropriating premiums
The state insurance commissioner took emergency action to suspend the agent and his business.
Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon took emergency action to suspend a New Orleans agent and his agency for allegedly falsifying information and misappropriating premiums from several policyholders.
The fraud division for the Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) began an investigation into Syed Azizuddin Baghdadi, the agent and operator of Gator Insured LLC, after receiving several reports from Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. claiming that Gator had issued two letters with false information, including policy numbers, effective dates and property addresses.
The insurance department also received evidence that Baghdadi had collected premiums from title companies during the closing of several real estate transaction. However, he failed to send or delayed remittance of the premiums to the insurance company. Baghdadi has admitted to failing to timely remit payments, according to LDI.
“Louisiana residents rely on our licensed agents to honestly conduct their policy transactions and remit their premiums to secure coverage on their homes,” Donelon said in a release. “For an agent to falsify policy information and fail to remit premiums puts residents in grave danger of losing their homes and other assets, especially during hurricane season.”
Businesses and personal lines clients of Gator Insured should ensure the coverages they sought were placed, LDI warned.
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