BY MARK E. RUQUET
The founder of the National African-American Insurance Association is locked in an increasingly public and nasty battle with Nationwide Insurance over the cancellation of his appointment with the carrier.
Jerald L. Tillman—owner of Cincinnati-based JL Tillman Insurance Agency and a 27-year veteran with Nationwide—had his contract cancelled in April on grounds of misconduct. He said he subsequently lost his appeal in a review process.
Mr. Tillman sent to National Underwriter a copy of an Oct. 15 letter addressed to “Nationwide Agents, Employees and Staff,” stating that “Nationwide is completely wrong in their conclusions and assumptions” about him.
In addition, in the letter he warned that something similar “can happen to you in an instant without notice, simply based on one’s opinion.”
Mr. Tillman said the incident that sparked the separation stems from a computer error earlier this year, when an auto policy was issued to a customer whose premium had not been paid.
Nationwide said there was more to the termination but would not elaborate.
According to Mr. Tillman, the problem began in January when a longtime customer came into his agency seeking an auto policy. After giving her a quote and beginning the payment process, he said a problem developed when the customer’s debit card indicated there were insufficient funds to pay the bill.
He said he informed the customer about the problem and told her the policy would not be issued until payment was made.
Somehow, according to Mr. Tillman, the policy was issued by Nationwide’s computer system. He said he thought the policy was cancelled because payment was not completed, but it was issued anyway because he did not cancel it in the system.
“It was a mistake I made,” said Mr. Tillman, noting this was a new computer process. “I did not delete the auto application from the computer.”
He said he learned of the mistake a month later when the customer’s son got into an accident. Before the accident, he said he kept reminding the customer—who is a member of his church—that she needed to make the payment to get the insurance, but she never told him she already had the policy. He added that she made the payment the day after the accident.
Mr. Tillman said that in April, representatives from Nationwide entered his office and announced he no longer represented the carrier. They would not tell him why, and he had to call the home office to finally learn the reason, he added. He then lost his appeal in a review process.