Insurance Solicitation Practices on Department of Defense Installations

Abstract

For nearly 30 years the sale of life insurance on military bases has been the subject of controversy and repeated violations of Department of Defense (DoD) policies by insurance sales agents. Since 1971, when the issue first came to the attention of then Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird, DoD has reformed and refined policies that have attempted to deal with deceptive and coercive sales tactics by unethical sales agents. The policies are clear and understandable. Violations of the policies continue to occur throughout the DoD, including the Far East, Europe and the United States, for several reasons; (1) Unscrupulous agents subtly deceive and coerce young service members by preying on the special character of military life that inculcates willing obedience. (2) Insurance companies that serve the military market Continue to employ agents who are unwilling or unable to comply with basic ethical precepts. (3) The extent of the deceptive and Coercive insurance sales practices is not widely understood below the level of the Office of the Secretary of Defense staff. (4) The controlling DoD directive' has inadequate reporting and inspection requirements. (5) Investigations and due process hearings for potential insurance policy violations excessively consume scarce and valuable personnel, investigative and staff resources at field command levels. (6) Neither the military services nor their field commands have staffs that are sufficiently sized or expert to regulate the conduct of the companies and their agents. (7) The DoD allotment system permits unscrupulous agents to mislead service members and to avoid consumer protections established by DoD and service policies (8) Current DoD education policies provide inadequate training in personal finance for junior enlisted personnel.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 15, 2000
Accession Number
ADA405162

Entities

Organizations

  • United States Department of Defense

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Classification
  • Consumers
  • Department Of Defense
  • Education
  • Enlisted Personnel
  • Far East
  • Insurance
  • Training
  • United States

Readers

  • Defense Financial Management and Audit.
  • Government and Public Administration Law.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.