Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple says Metairie surety bond producer Alexander Ellsworth and his agency, Ellsworth Corporation, will refund more than $1.2 million in premium payments and pay a fine of $250,000 for fraudulently charging his customers fees in excess of the lawful premium quoted by their insurance companies.
The $250,000 fine is the maximum allowed by Louisiana law. These actions follow a cease-and-desist order and notice of revocation and fine issued in June of 2023, which was in the appellate process until an agreement was reached on Jan. 28, 2026.
According to the Louisiana Department of Insurance, Ellsworth and his agency added unlawful fees on top of the premiums approved and quoted by surety carriers, effectively overcharging construction clients that relied on the firm to place required commercial surety bonds.
“Construction companies require commercial surety bonds before beginning construction projects and rely on licensed agents to lawfully and fairly handle their policy transactions with insurance companies,” Temple said in a press release announcing the action. “For an agent to profit from breaking Louisiana’s insurance laws violates that trust and will not be tolerated.
“I appreciate the good work of the Louisiana Department of Insurance Office of Insurance Fraud in investigating this matter.”
Ellsworth’s attorney issued a statement about the matter.
“As acknowledged in the Regulatory Stipulation with the Department of Insurance, Alex Ellsworth acted after receiving several opinion letters from counsel explaining that his actions would not violate the Louisiana Insurance Code, and the Louisiana Department of Insurance has fully reinstated his license,” said attorney Stephen Gelé with Bivalacqua Gelé and Ellis.
Gelé also said regulatory stipulation with the LDI shows Ellsworth acted based on legal guidance and has since been cleared to continue operating.
Gelé said the dispute centered on statutory language that had not previously been interpreted by a judge, and multiple law firms supported an interpretation that Ellsworth’s conduct complied with state insurance law.
After an administrative law judge later adopted a different interpretation, Ellsworth issued refund checks to clients who had been charged unitemized fees. Gelé said that two clients returned refund checks totaling more than $500,000, stating they were aware of the fees and satisfied with the services provided.
He also said the state investigation was initiated by a client Ellsworth had sued for unpaid premiums and noted that neither Ellsworth nor Ellsworth Corporation had been previously investigated by the Department of Insurance prior to the matter resolved in the regulatory stipulation.
Founded in 1973, Ellsworth Corporation is a Metairie-based insurance agency specializing in surety bonds, construction insurance and related risk management services. The firm was acquired in 2023 by World Insurance Associates.
Anyone who believes they have been a victim of insurance fraud is asked to contact the LDI Office of Insurance Fraud at 225-342-4956 or report it online at www.ldi.la.gov/reportfraud.
