FLORIDIANS
SHOULD CEASE TRANSACTIONS
WITH NATIONAL FOUNDATION OF AMERICA
Florida
Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink is urging consumers and agents to
avoid any annuity transactions with Tennessee-based National Foundation
of American (NFOA), which is operating in Florida without authority, and
immediately contact the Department of Financial Services’ consumer
helpline.
“We advise Florida
consumers to never conduct insurance or financial business with any
entity not authorized to do business in this state, and we have made it
easy for them to check on any agent or company through our website,”
said CFO Sink, who oversees the department. “We stand ready to assist
consumers with any questions or concerns they may have.”
To verify licensure, ask
a question or file a complaint, consumers can log on to the department’s
website at
www.MyFloridaCFO.com or call the department’s Consumer
Helpline at 1-800-342-2762.
Insurance Commissioner
Kevin McCarty, who oversees the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR),
has ordered NFOA to cease all activities in Florida and with Florida
consumers because it is not authorized to operate in Florida. The
company promotes itself in Florida and other states as a charitable
organization, but investigators are unable to confirm that the company
is registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a charitable
organization, nor have they been able to confirm registration with the
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
NFOA is soliciting
Florida consumers with existing annuities and offering allegedly
tax-favored monthly payments in exchange for the transfer of their
annuities to NFOA. CFO Sink said the department wants consumers and
agents currently working with NFOA to call to help investigators
determine the extent of NFOA’s operations. One insurance company has
reported that in Florida alone it has more than $4 million in annuities
where ownership has been transferred or is pending transfer to NFOA.
