Insurance Commissioner Takes Action to Protect Wisconsin
Consumers, Revokes Agent License
Madison, Wis. – Insurance Commissioner Mark Afable took action against a former insurance agent accused of unlawfully taking advantage of his clients. The former insurance agent, Barry Rumpel, may no longer work as an insurance agent in Wisconsin and has been ordered to pay $500,713.52 in financial penalties, including $298,372.74 in consumer restitution for insurance law violations.
“We are committed to protecting Wisconsinites from predatory actors and, whenever possible, will take swift action to ensure that folks are made whole," said Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) Chief Legal Counsel Richard Wicka. “I want to thank OCI Staff Attorney Lauren Van Buren and Advanced Insurance Examiner Renee Fabry for their diligent efforts to make the agent's victims financially whole."
In the final decision issued on October 1, 2019, Commissioner Afable found that Rumpel took unlawful loans from his clients and sold unsuitable life insurance and annuity policies to his customers. Some of the unsuitable sales were procured by misrepresenting the customers' finances on insurance applications. The final decision provides full restitution to consumers that purchased unsuitable insurance products and ordered Rumpel to forfeit to the state twice his commissions for each unsuitable sale. Commissioner Afable also ordered that Barry Rumpel's insurance license be revoked.
OCI releases a monthly administrative action report that details all the actions taken by OCI against agents and insurers. This particular administrative action was notable for its size and complexity.