Missouri Asks Marketing Firm For Information

By Staff Writer

August 15, 2006 at 12:30 PM

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Show Me State officials are trying to get more information from a company that generates annuity leads.

The Missouri Department of Insurance has asked Investors Union L.L.C., Medina, Ohio, which does business as the Annuity Service Center, to show that it is complying with Missouri insurance laws.

Annuity Service Center has been sending older Missouri residents postcards indicating that annuity holders had to call a toll-free telephone number provided on the card, according to Missouri officials.

Annuity Service Center agents set up annuity review appointments with independent insurance agents for consumers who called, and the agents paid the center a fee for each appointment arranged, officials say.

Annuity Service Center can request a hearing.

If the company does not request a hearing, the Missouri Department of Insurance will order the company to stop all related business practices and pay a fine or forfeiture, officials say.

Representatives for Annuity Service Center could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Better Business Bureau of Akron, Ohio, has an entry for the company showing that the company has resolved almost all complaints filed with the bureau or made every reasonable effort to do so.

In addition, "the company has revised their postcard to include a disclosure stating that if the consumer does not have an annuity, they should disregard the mailer," the bureau says.

But Investors Union has what the bureau considers to be an unsatisfactory record because the company has not made enough of an effort to correct the underlying reason for the complaints, the bureau says.

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