Hartford Insurance has been accused by the Department of Insurance of charging an illegal fee. The fee was charged by a general agent of Hartford’s and Hartford denies any wrongdoing on its part. Hartford is also, according to the company, cooperating with the Department of Insurance investigation.
This does not surprise me. Well, the allegation does not surprise me, and if Hartford had no knowledge, that would not surprise me as well. Agents, especially managing agents, have a lot of leeway and very little oversight, in my experience. They sometimes do things like this without anyone ever catching on.
The point for consumers, and this includes small businesses, is that you MUST shop around. Do not settle for a quote from one broker, even if it includes 5 or 10 insurance companies. Get quotes from two or three brokers. Sure, there will be some overlap, but you will see if you are really getting the best rate.