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NRA Forced To Retreat (NY)
November 20, 2020
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<p style="text-align: justify;">The <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/11/18/nra-agrees-to-five-year-ban-of-insurance-sales-to-settle-ny-charges/?utm_campaign=iphone_nyp">National Rifle Association</a> will pay a $2.5 million penalty and will be banned from selling insurance products in New York after state regulators found the organization violated the New York State Insurance Law for nearly two decades.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The settlement with the New York State Department of Financial Services ended the state’s three-year investigation into the not-for-profit organization’s insurance offerings, including their controversial insurance program, Carry Guard. The government accused the NRA of unlawfully soliciting and marketing insurance products without a license, including insurance for people who possess concealed carry permits as part of its Carry Guard Program, launched by the NRA in 2017. Carry Guard promised to cover the legal fees and civil liability costs of policyholders involved in incidents in which they claim they acted in self-defense.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">New York Attorney General Letitia James stated, “The NRA violated the New York Insurance Law by soliciting dangerous and impermissible insurance products, including those within its Carry Guard program that purported to insure intentional acts and criminal defense costs.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The NRA claims they consulted with licensed insurance broker Lockton Affinity to ensure that the Carry Guards program’s insurance products and marketing were within the law. The settlement resolved charges over the NRA’s two-decade relationship with insurance broker Lockton Cos, including the sale of 28,015 policies to New Yorkers and the NRA’s receipt of more than $1.8 million in associated royalties and fees.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">In addition to paying a 2.5 million civil penalty, the NRA agreed they will not receive compensation for new insurance policies or engage in insurance marketing in New York for five years. The NRA did not admit any wrongdoing.</p>
Special thanks to Irving Fayman for his contributions to this post. If you have any questions, kindly contact <a href="mailto:tbracken@wcmlaw.com">Thomas Bracken</a>.