The National Rifle Association’s disastrous Carry Guard insurance program, which has since ceased operation, has cost it tens of millions of dollars in fines and legal fees. The ill-conceived program was structured in such a way that it failed to comply with insurance laws in many of the states in which it sold policies. That has resulted in fines, policy cancellations, lawsuits and even civil charges.

Yesterday, the NRA settled pending civil charges with the state of New York alleging they sold insurance there without a license. The NRA agreed to pay a $2.5 million fine and not to sell insurance products in the Empire State for five years.

From US News and World Report:

The settlement resolved charges over the NRA’s two-decade relationship with insurance broker Lockton Cos, including the sale of 28,015 policies to New Yorkers and the NRA’s receipt of more than $1.8 million in associated royalties and fees.

Linda Lacewell, the state insurance superintendent, said Lockton’s NRA-branded “Carry Guard” program illegally offered policyholders coverage for criminal defense costs and the “intentional” use of firearms in shooting incidents.

She also accused the NRA of misleading gun collectors, dealers, instructors, clubs and shows by promising coverage at the “lowest possible cost,” when the group typically kept between 13.7% and 21.9% of premiums paid.

All in all, the settlement is probably a win for the NRA. A $2.5 million fine is a relative pittance compared to what they’ve sunk into legal fees defending themselves against states like New York, Washington and others over sales of Carry Guard policies.

From 2000 to 2018, the NRA worked with the Lockton Affinity Series of Lockton Affinity, LLC to offer insurance products to NRA members, their families and affiliated businesses in New York. The NRA received “substantial” compensation, including royalties based on insurance premiums. That means the NRA acted as an insurance producer under New York law, requiring the organization to be licensed, according to the DFS.

As for agreeing not to sell any new policies in the state for five years, that’s not a problem. The NRA finally pulled the plug on Carry Guard over a year ago when it became evident how ill-conceived and how big a potential liability that albatross of a program was.

From the Washington Post:

“The DFS inquiry, which began with a roar, ends with a whimper,” William A. Brewer III, counsel to the NRA, said in an email. “The consent order contains no admissions by the NRA, and no NRA member money will fund this settlement.”

Uh huh. It’s not clear how paying the fine won’t involve any member dollars since money is fungible. Whatever the funding source, the NRA is no doubt only too happy to get this mess behind it as they continue to fight New York Attorney General Letitia James’ attempts to euthanize the Association.

The only winner in all of this has been — surprise! — the NRA’s ultra-expensive outside counsel William Brewer. That’s one scandal down and another dozen or so to go.

 

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

54 COMMENTS

  1. A $2.5 million fine is a relative pittance compared to what they’ve sunk into Wayne LaPierre’s wages, retirement and kickback schemes…

  3. How can an org that pays 10 of millions to attorneys annually not know that they needed an insurance license in each state to sell insurance???????????????????

    • Thats millions in fines that will be paid from donor money that is not going to the mission that it was donated to.

    • “How can an org that pays 10 of millions to attorneys annually not know that they needed an insurance license in each state to sell insurance?“

      Don’t you get it?

      it was a con from day one.

      I would be interested in testimonials from the people who actually utilized the insurance and filed a claim, Surely out of the 28,000 in New York State there was one who filed a claim? Or across the United States?

      • Well whiner, after we finish up proving the massive leftarded cheating in the election and get Trump his 2nd term, US gun owners will look into the NRA issues. Thanks for the heads up “brother in arms”.

        Oh, your not even a gun owner? WTF are you even here lamenting over?

        Trump/Pence 2020

        • Well said. These bozos need to keep their eye on the prize instead of being sidetracked by nonsense. We need to get and keep these Commie bastards out of power PERMANENTLY not fight over small time fraud.

    • The problem is not that they did not have insurance license.
      New York State forbids insurance to cover “intentional actions”.
      Armed self-defense is an intentional action .
      Therefore insurance for armed self-defense is forbidden in New York State.

      All of the other ” Carry insurance” products from other companies are actually prepaid legal plans, not insurance .
      So they are not regulated by the various insurance commissioners in the different states.

  4. “GOA Launching “Get out the Vote” Efforts in Georgia”

    It likely won’t be enough. Nearly a million mail-in votes have been ‘requested’ and you can bet your ass they will be fraudulent votes for the Leftist candidate…

  5. Yes sir, David Perdue will be looking out for the interests of the citizens of Georgia!

    Right after he uses his insider knowledge to turn a big profit from Wall Street, while withholding the dangers of COVID-19 from his constituents.

    “Sen. David Perdue of Georgia bought stock in a company that produces personal protective equipment on January 24, the same day the Senate received a classified briefing on the spread of the novel coronavirus, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Monday.
    Perdue’s latest financial-portfolio disclosure listed 112 transactions, 82 of which were made on March 3. Seventy-six were stock purchases of as much as $1.8 million, and there were 34 stock sales of as much as $825,000.
    Overall trading activity was significantly higher in March as volatility rocked markets in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.”

    Profits before People Trump/Death 2020

    • Never mind what others do minor 49 I.Q. You belong to the democRat Party the Party that owns the legacy of slavery, segregation, Jim Crow. lynching, the KKK, Eugenics, Gun Control and other race based atrocities.

      If you really, honestly want to be a good socialist democRat useful idiot you need to stfu and demand your party make Monetary Reparations payable to the victims or descendants of the victims of your despicable democRat Party race based atrocities.

      To say nothing and do nothing is to condone the stench surrounding your nasty nice democRat Party. The floor is yours…

    • Because Big Tech, China Outsource Boy Jon Osoff, and Fidel Castro Necrophile, Raphael Warnock are so sterling.

  6. NRA Carry Guard was not very good when I shopped carry insurance a few years ago.
    US Law Shield and Firearms Legal Protection were/are much better.

    Trump/Pence 2020

    • Ohhhhh, I would be shaking, except for the FACT that I’m not!

      Trump/Pence 2020

      Dance lil’ monkey, the hand on your leash COMMANDS you to. 🤣

      • Troll harder pathetic loser. 😂

        Dance, your master commands you to.

        Plenty of images of the back of my home on Walther Forums. Check post #153 in the “One and Done AR” thread. How do you like my pool? Or my Shepard?

        Such a pathetic little lowercase troll. 🤪

        Trump/Pence 2020, because only leashed monkeys call slojoe the POTUS.

      • LOL @ CAMES says:
        November 20, 2020 at 02:11
        Joe Biden is not the POTUS. He’s the duly elected President-Elect.

        WRONG. If/when the electoral college votes SloJoe into the White House, THEN he will be the President-Elect. At this point, I don’t have much hope that SloJoe will be sent packing, but you can damned well wait for it to happen.

    • ACLDN was my choice.

      Most cost effective and VERY HIGHLY RATED.

      “This Great Reset is destined to fail because those who planned it do not understand that there are still people ready to take to the streets to defend their rights, to protect their loved ones, to give a future to their children and grandchildren.”
      Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò

  8. Let’s pretend for a moment that WLP is a stand up guy. This failure alone is enough reason for him to step down.

  10. I have to be honest: what with the insane rants and the ALL CAPS headings, reading this comment section is a lot like reading through my junk email folder. I think we can do better, folks.

      • The trolls are destroying this site. Which is what they want. Unfortunately the current management here is apparently not able to counter this onslaught.

        • Is it too much to require an Avatar for posting on TTAG?

          It would stop all the anonomous “shape shifting” leashed chimps.

          Trump/Pence 2020

        • “The trolls are destroying this site.”

          Yes, by posting actual facts that threaten the treasured delusions of the right wing gun nuts on this forum.

          And the trolls as it were, are not the ones who are advocating violence and death.

          It’s the regulars on this forum who are declaring war on their political opponents and discussing strategic and tactical options for hanging elected officials and others they disagree with.

          Your unhinged calls for violence do not advance the cause of the POTG, and only give more ammunition to those who advocate for stricter gun control.

        • LOOK EVERYONE…..ANOTHER pile of BS from whiner…….

          “Your unhinged calls for violence”

          I do nothing but defend my right to bear arms, open and concealed.
          Recognition of my right to defend family and property with deadly force is NOT “unhinged calls for violence” you flaming moron!

          Slojoe wants to “unite the US”?
          OK. When his “party” and policies respects the Constitution and rule if law, I will respect his leadership.

  11. F this website!
    It was so much better when Robert F ran it.
    This is all just the troll Miner49er show now.
    Smitty

  12. Hey that’s real impressive. Now go ahead and send me another membership request where I get a free plastic pen if I join. I’ll get right on it.

  13. I like how they use the word intentional. It shows how they view POTG as killers bent or shooting people.

  14. I don’t know how the NRA is getting there money these days…..But I know they will never see another penny the rest of my life time! Just another bunch of Rhino’s posing as conservatives, the Mitt Romney’s of the gun world.

  15. FIFY

    “Little Wayne La Pew Pew’s disastrous Carry Guard insurance program, which has since ceased operation, has cost it tens of millions of dollars in fines and legal fees. The ill-conceived program wasn’t structured in such a way as to comply with insurance laws in many of the states in which it sold policies. ”

    Negotiating Rights Away strikes or should I say fails yet again, if nothing else WLP guidance could best be described as ill-conceived.
    Not Another Penny !

  16. Carry Guard was ill-conceived, at best.

    Even worse, I remember when a longtime vendor at the annual NRA show was screwed over – USCCA was informed with zero advance notice literally the evening before the show was to open, that their floor space was being given to someone else. Then NRA announced Carry Guard the next day.

    I never did hear if USCCA was refunded their deposit money. For certain, they lost money from useless hotel reservations, airplane tickets, booth materials shipping costs, etc.

      • Yes, just more of the wealthy elitists at the NRA, it was a con job from day one.

        Initially, I was surprised that most of the POTG did not recognize the carry guard con.

        But then I reflected on how easily they were fooled by NYC city slicker con artist Donald Trump, and I realized Wayne Lapierre knew his target rubes as well as Donald Trump did.

        “I love the poorly educated, they’re so easily snookered” DJ T

  17. Geez and there’s still folks shilling for the NRA. In another life I sold insurance where fiduciary responsibility is a thing…how the “leader’s” blundered on this is beyond the pale. My NRA membership ended on June 1 never to be renewed.

  18. That 2.5 million dollar settlement is just over 3 months’ salary for Wayne LaPierre (He collects a 7 million per year salary.)

  20. Carry Guard was an inherently flawed program regardless of its legality. It was a reimbursement program after you won in court rather than a pay-up-front program that provided the funds you needed to win in court. Losing after a righteous shooting, because your personal pockets weren’t deep enough to pay for good lawyers, meant that Carry Guard didn’t have to pay you a dime. When Carry Guard was announced, I expected that it would be a good program because the NRA would have done its homework. What a disappointment!

    • “Carry Guard was an inherently flawed program regardless of its legality. It was a reimbursement program…”

      Isn’t that the core of “insurance”? Suffer a loss and the insurance company reimburses you up to the limits of the policy?

      As I understand the latest information, it wasn’t the “insurance program” (reimbursement) that was the problem, but that NRA was acting as an insurance company illegally.

  21. W. Lapew is a disgrace of a self appointed snake oil salesman that rakes in cash of unsuspecting patriots to line his net worth! Got $$$uits ? How about a mansion or two Wayne? In others names of course! Join 2A foundation for life for less than five years of this shitshow! They’re like the dems used to be! But now all about themselves! Wrong is wrong.

  22. Carry Guard was the worst of the carry “insurance” programs out there. The ones that are excellent and worth a crap are essentially attorney-on-retainer programs like CCW Safe.

    CCW Safe IS NOT and “insurance policy” and does not behave like insurance, instead the monthly or annual fee gets you legal coverage that pays up front. Carry Guard was a week scam, and NRA hoped to sell the shit out of it because NRA’s name was associated with it.

    Complete crap and no loss whatsoever.

  23. The NRA is doing exactly what they’re supposed to do, they are the battleships and the Destroyers, draw all the attention of the gun haters, while the USS Enterprise GOA and Firearms Protection Agency go in for the kills…. and the NRA has reported record number of members….

    • As a former Navy destroyerman, I find your comparison to be silly as hell. A battleship has never been comparable to a destroyer, for starters. And, destroyers have their own missions that only sometimes overlap with the missions of aircraft carriers, cruisers, or battleships. In fact, destroyers are handed missions because a carrier would be totally inappropriate – that is, a carrier cannot perform the missions that a destroyer can. Maybe you can stick to television for your analogies in the future?

      • In current times, the term “destroyer” has lost all meaning (and maybe even by late WW2). Which rational navy spends a billion dollars on a ship designed to be lost in battle (destroyer)? Today’s destroyers are capital ships (not to mention frigates(?) and LCS [Little Crappy Ships] ).

        Suspicious of bureaucracies as I am, seems identifiers for small ships applied to todays less-than-CV vessels is designed to make Congress (and the public) think the requested ships are small, and inexpensive.

        If you were a TinCan Sailor of history, all I can say is, “Wow”. What a ride you must have had.

  24. All you NRA bashers need to wake up and smell the TRUTH! Lockton Insurance was at fault for the NY mess, NOT the NRA. Lockton assured the NRA that the insurance was good-to-go in NY.

    By-the-way, it was LOCKTON that paid the $2.5M fine, not the NRA.

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