WorkComp Watch

Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine has confirmed that legal action is planned against M. Clark Fain III, founder of Southeastern U.S. Insurance Company (SEUS), now in liquidation. Records indicate that Fain had made some contributions to Oxendine's campaigns for insurance commissioner and governor, and Oxendine indicated the planned legal action in response to questions raised about the contributions.

SEUS specialized in writing Workers Compensation insurance for the PEO (employee leasing) industry, and was shut down after Fain had attempted to remove a key real estate investment subsidiary from the insurance company.

Interestingly, our company had it's own little encounter with both Fain and Oxendine's office a year or two ago, when we filed a complaint against SEUS with the Georgia department of insurance over a classification dispute. The Georgia Department sided with SEUS on what seemed (to us) flimsy grounds.

Perhaps the problem was that we hadn't contributed to Oxendine's campaign funds.

That may seem a cheap shot, but Oxendine's accepting campaign money from the owner of an insurance company also seems cheap--something along the lines of providing Georgia with the best insurance commissioner money can buy, and at Wal-Mart prices to boot.

At the very least, it gives the appearance of impropriety. Georgia law prohibits insurance companies from donating to insurance regulators, but allows employees of such insurers to make contributions. A loophole large enough, it would seem, to drive a truck through.