Counselors: Insurance scams on the rise

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Counselors: Insurance scams on the rise
By Natasha Lee, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Thursday, March 19, 2009

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Financial counselors are encouraging servicemembers to be wary of businesses using predatory practices to sell insurance and investment products.

Instances of military personnel being swindled into buying overvalued insurance promising cash value returns are on the upswing across all branches, officials said this week.

On Okinawa, insurance agents are pitching shady sales on and off bases, said Joe Cassidy, operational readiness support program manager at Camp Foster. The program provides financial education, training and counseling.

Cassidy said while commercial solicitation is allowed on military installations, businesses must comply with Defense Department guidelines that prohibit door-to-door solicitation, selling products to a mass audience or telemarketing pitches to workplaces.

Part of the problem is that servicemembers don’t fully understand what they’re buying, said Anthony Green, a personal financial management specialist at Foster.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=61412