Force placed homeowners insurance Archives

Force placed insurance sales information released by Assurant following inquiry

September 10, 2012April 30, 2013

The Securities and Exchange Commission has put the pressure on the company to release these details. Assurant Inc. is currently under review regarding whether or not it has been overcharging for force placed insurance purchased on behalf of some homeowners, and has broadened its disclosure regarding the profits this activity has generated, following an inquiry by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to the insurer’s data, this coverage represented 89 percent of the specialty property profits in Q1 and Q2. Throughout the first half of the year, the company…

Force placed insurance should be carefully monitored by the homeowner

August 22, 2012April 30, 2013

The moment a mortgage borrower finds out that coverage has been purchased, the bank should be phoned. When a bank purchases force placed insurance on behalf of a customer, it typically isn’t the highest point on a priority list, as it typically occurs at a time when the homeowners are already at risk of losing their homes. However, it is still in the homeowners best interest to investigate it. Force placed insurance is bought by a bank on a customer’s home when there is still a mortgage on that property…

New York regulators announce price reduction for forced placed insurance

June 14, 2012April 30, 2013

Homeowners to see some relief from ultra high premiums. The top financial regulator in New York state has ordered that forced placed insurance on homeowners policies be provided at a lower price, following a probe that determined that companies had been overcharging their customers. The deadline for the changes to the premium rates has been set at July 6, 2012. Benjamin M. Lawsky, the superintendent of the Department of Financial Services set the deadline for the filing of new price on the coverage for homeowners in New York, within this…

Forced placed insurance can cost three times more than a consumer-purchased policy

May 3, 2012May 25, 2012 Nordstrom

Standard homeowners insurance often costs a third of the premiums of lender-placed coverage. When forced placed insurance is purchased on behalf of a mortgage customer who has not kept up with homeowners insurance payments or who has failed to obtain coverage, it is typically to the property owner’s detriment, as many of these individuals are being severely gouged by their loan servicers for this protection. This form of coverage is designed to provide banks and other mortgage lenders with protection against losses on properties on which they have loaned money…

CFPB considers new rules for fair force placed insurance

April 11, 2012April 30, 2013

Forced placed insurance gets the squeeze. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the country’s consumer watchdog agency, has put forward newly proposed rules for mortgage servicers which would require them to provide borrowers with better disclosure of fees, force placed insurance, and interest rates. According to the director of this newly formed organization, Richard Cordray, “The mortgage servicing rules we are considering reflect two basic, common-sense principles – no surprises and no runarounds.” The CFPB provided the proposal details, in a statement which included information about a measure that would…

New York regulators pressure Citigroup to comply with subpoena

February 10, 2012May 5, 2013

New York insurance regulators are pressuring Citigroup to comply with a subpoena regarding investigations into force-placed insurance. Force-placed insurance has long been a source of controversy. These policies require homeowners to purchase coverage that is much more expensive than conventional policies. This is often done for the sake of lenders who hold sway with insurance companies and the tactic is used to secure returns on these investments. The New York Department of Financial Services has been investigating a number of insurance companies and financial institutions that may have been conducting…

Flood map errors costing consumers thousands!

December 2, 2010May 1, 2021 Loreen

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, also known as FEMA, is in charge of mapping out areas for high risk flood zones, but are some of these maps wrong? Banks require flood insurance on homes in these flood zones and many are paying steep prices for what could be old information or even human error! These maps are used to determine insurance rates and with the wrong information premiums can go (on average) from $300 a year to $3500, depending on your area and loan requirements. With no warning you have…