Posted on: Thursday, November 29, 2001

Health insurer TRG to shut down

Advertiser Staff and News Services

Health insurer TRG Marketing LLC has agreed to shut down its Hawai'i health plan after state regulators found the company was illegally selling insurance.

TRG, an Indiana company with 293 Hawai'i customers in a health plan, was an unauthorized insurer that had never applied for permission to sell insurance in Hawai'i, state Insurance Commissioner Wayne Metcalf said yesterday. It will cease operations as early as tomorrow, Metcalf said.

The company had posed as a federal ERISA insurer exempt from state regulation. After an investigation by federal and state agencies, however, the company admitted it is not a valid ERISA plan and is subject to state regulation.

Metcalf said TRG customers need to find new health insurance immediately or risk a lapse in coverage.