Georgia Brokerage Sues in Case Involving National Baptist Convention

A Georgia-based insurance broker is suing two former business partners that it had in an arrangement to sell health insurance products to the 7.5-million-member National Bapitist Convention. The brokerage, Kingdom Insurance Group, LLC, of Thomasville, Ga., claims it was cheated out of thousands of commissions.

Kingdom alleges that United Healthcare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group of Minnetonka, Minn., and Houston-based Protectors Insurance & Financial Services, LLC, schemed to cheat Kingdom out of millions of dollars revenue it would have made from the sale of health insurance policies to the Nashville-based National Baptist Convention, one of the largest African-American church groups in the United States.

The three entered into their agreement in 2008. Under the terms, Kingdom would act as a supervising general agent between United and Protectors, a small agency that had little experience in life and health insurance but that had an exclusive relationship with the National Baptist Convention to market insurance products to the churches and their members.

Protectors would profit from policies it sold on behalf of United and Kingdom, while Kingdom would reap commissions on United policies sold by Protectors and other agents in its network. Protectors also entered into an agreement enabling it to market other carriers’ insurance policies through Kingdom. Members of the National Baptist Conference would have benefited from the suite of services provided by both United and Kingdom.

In a 33-page lawsuit filed August 6 in Superior Court of Thomas County, Ga., Kingdom makes 14 claims against United and Protectors for conspiracy breach of contract, negligent and fraudulent misrepresentation, and unjust enrichment.

In response, United last week sought to have the case moved to federal court in Valdosta, Ga.

Topics Lawsuits Agencies Georgia