The Department is aware that an individual named Kevin Kolenda, owner of a business called Hole in Won, was selling or attempting to sell unauthorized/unlicensed insurance in the state of Wyoming. The “insurance” being marketed or sold by Mr. Kolenda was to cover prize money awards for various types of fundraisers including fishing tournaments. A complaint received by the Department regarding Mr. Kolenda’s activities alleged that a “policy” was purchased from Mr. Kolenda to cover the prize money award for a fishing tournament. When a contestant caught a prize fish and a claim was made on the “policy,” Mr. Kolenda did not pay the prize award pursuant to the contract provisions, and eventually stopped communicating regarding the matter.

On or about April 4, 2024, a Federal Grand Jury returned an indictment against Mr. Kevin Kolenda for six counts of wire fraud. The indictment alleges Mr. Kolenda defrauded multiple organizations and individuals out of nearly $1 million, including about $850,000 in insurance premiums and over $100,000 in prize awards that were never paid. Mr. Kolenda has not been convicted of the crimes alleged in the indictment at this time. The court proceedings regarding Mr. Kolenda are currently scheduled for trial in August 2025.

The insurance professionals in Wyoming are the first line of defense to protect our Wyoming citizens from becoming victims of insurance fraud. The Department encourages all insurance professionals to be diligent when selecting insurance coverage for their clients to ensure that the insurer is properly licensed in this state. Diligence is necessary even when receiving a referral from a trusted source. If there is ever any question regarding whether an insurer is licensed in this state, or if you have other concerns regarding possible fraudulent insurance operations, please contact the Wyoming Department of Insurance at (307) 777-7401.

On February 1, 2025, the Wyoming Department of Insurance (“Department”) will email the Annual Appointment Renewal Invoice and the Detailed Appointment List to each insurer. Appointments will retroactively expire effective January 31, 2025, unless the renewal invoice is paid in full on or before the due date of March 31, 2025. Pursuant to W.S. § 26-9-213 ↗, each producer acting as an agent of the insurer must be appointed and each insurer shall remit the annual appointment renewal fee to the Department. 

The last day to terminate an appointment and avoid the renewal fee is January 31, 2025. Once invoices are generated, the invoice may not be altered and must be paid in full to renew the company’s appointments. Be aware that if the invoice is not paid on or before March 31, 2025, the appointments will terminate effective January 31, 2025.

All 2025 Wyoming Company Annual Appointment Renewal Invoices should be paid via Sircon’s electronic payment portal (www.sircon.com). This process enhances efficiency, reduces costs and improves customer service with the Department. You will be able to submit payment for all Appointment Renewal invoices for your company in a single transaction through this service without having to pay each invoice separately. To use this service, you must be a Sircon account holder.

If you do not have a Sircon account, go to www.sircon.com/products/carriers/signup/ ↗ and follow the instructions to establish your Sircon account. If you already have a Sircon account, no action is required by you until you receive your invoice. Access to the Pay State Invoice Service for the Wyoming Appointment Renewals will be available on February 1, 2025.

Payments will be made through an Automated Clearing House (ACH) process using Vertafore’s Sircon Solution. There will be a $10 service fee for each invoice paid. Payments can be made with checking, savings, or corporate checking accounts. To submit these payments, the account must be authorized to accept ACH transactions. 

We recommend notifying your bank no later than January 14, 2025, with the following information:

1. ACH Payment ID is: F742470776

2. Payment Processor: Vertafore, Inc.

If you have any questions regarding your Sircon account or this payment service, please contact Sircon at https://sirconwalkup.vertafore.com/apex/sc_ContactSupport ↗ or by phone at (877) 876-4430.

To access the Pay State Invoice service, go to www.sircon.com ↗ and log into your business account. Under the Administration menu click on “Pay State Invoices” to process payment.

Updating Insurer Appointment Renewal Contact Information

Appointment Renewal Invoices will be generated and emailed on February 1, 2025 to the Appointment Renewal address/contact on record with the Department. The Appointment Renewal address/contact shall be reviewed and updated using the Wyoming Company Address Change Portal.

Questions regarding use of the Company Contact Address Change Portal should be addressed to Joyce Aitken at wyinsdep@wyo.gov or by phone at (307) 777-7401.

Important Dates to Remember for your Appointment Renewal

• 1/31/2025:  Appointment renewal contact updates due via the Department’s Company Address Portal.

• 1/31/2025:  Last day for terminations of appointments not to be renewed.

• 2/1/2025:    Appointment renewal invoices sent via email.

• 3/31/2025:  PAYMENT DUE by 11:59 pm MT.  Be aware, if the invoice is not paid on or before March 31, 2025, the appointments will be terminated on April 11, 2025. 

• 4/1/2025:    Payment service closes and payments will no longer be accepted.

Disputed Invoices

Any insurer having a dispute regarding a specific appointment must submit an email to the Department and provide documentation to verify that an appointment was terminated by the insurer prior to February 1, 2025.  Invoices must be paid in full and may not be altered.

Questions

Questions concerning the Annual Appointment Renewal Invoices may be sent to Lisa Hastings, Licensing Supervisor at doi-appt-renewals@wyo.gov or by phone at (307) 777-7344.

Pursuant to W.S. $ 3l -9-405, every motor vehicle liability policy is subject to certain statutory provisions which need not be contained in the actual policy language. Specifically, W.S. § 31-9-405(f) states as follows:

(i) The liability of the insurance carrier with the respect to the insurance required by this act shall become absolute whenever injury or damage covered by the motor vehicle liability policy occurs. The policy may not be cancelled or annulled as to the liability by any agreement between the insurance carrier and the insured after the occurrence of the injury or damage. No statement made by the insured or on his behalf and no violation of the policy shall defeat or void the policy[.]

A common policy provision excludes coverage for liability resulting from criminal acts. The assumption is that this policy exclusion is included due to the general public policy of not indemnifying individuals for criminal acts.

The Department is aware of insurers attempting to deny liability coverage as a policy exclusion in circumstances where the insured caused injury or damage to uninvolved third parties while operating a motor vehicle in commission or furtherance of a criminal act. However, the plain language of W.S. § 31-9-405 is clear: the insurer's responsibility regarding liability coverage as to the innocent third party is absolute and may not be denied or modified once liability has been incurred. This position is based on not only the plain language of W.S. § 31-9-405(f), but also upon consideration of the public policy of protecting innocent third parties.

It is understood that the above position may have an initial economic consequence for insurers because they are statutorily required to pay for injuries and damages that may be otherwise contractually excluded in the policy. However, pursuant to W.S. § 31-9-405(h), any motor vehicle liability policy may provide that the insured shall reimburse the insurance carrier for any payment the insurance carrier would not have been obligated to make under the terms of the policy except for the provisions of this act [the Motor Vehicle Safety-Responsibility Act, W.S. § 26-9-101 et seq.]. This language allows the insurance carrier to recover from the insured in the event liability coverage is mandated pursuant to W.S. § 26-9-405(f). The Department's interpretation of the mandatory coverage provisions of W.S. § 26-9-405(f) is that the requirement is satisfied upon payment of the statutory minimum insurance requirements identified in W.S. § 31-9-405(b)(ii).

If there are questions regarding the above, please feel free to contact the Department Staff Attorney at the Department main telephone number (307) 777-7401.