Live Insurance News

Force placed insurance company may slash rates by 19 percent

December 21, 2012April 30, 2013

Florida may see a considerable reduction from QBE following state regulator criticism. The biggest force placed insurance company in Florida, QBE, has responded to the criticisms that it has received from regulators by making an offer to decrease its rates by 19 percent. This could make a significant difference in the coverage and real estate marketplaces of the state. Force placed insurance is purchased by lenders – typically mortgage lenders – on behalf of homeowners who have failed to purchase their own coverage or who have let their policies expire.…

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…

Forced place insurance lawsuit filed against Wells Fargo

July 16, 2012April 30, 2013

Bank accused of charging its mortgage clients inflated homeowners coverage premiums. A lawsuit has been filed against Wells Fargo Bank NA, which has accused the company of charging inflated force placed insurance premiums to homeowners who had allowed their coverage to lapse. The complaint stated that the inflated premiums are designed to cover kickbacks. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida federal court received the filing, in which homeowner Ira Fladell stated that “The premiums are inflated to cover kickbacks in the form of unearned commissions and bundled administrative costs not properly charged…

Force placed insurance most common in Florida

July 11, 2012April 30, 2013

California came in second for the state with the most premiums collected. According to sworn testimony regarding force placed insurance, before the United States Judicial Panel, Florida has the largest share of premiums from these policies. Its share was 35 percent of the entire country in 2011, equaling about $1.2 billion. The state was among the highest for home foreclosures in the country, and the majority of people whose mortgage payments defaulted also stopped paying their insurance premiums. This meant that many people had the force placed policies imposed in…

Force placed insurance policies to be the topic of official questioning

July 9, 2012July 8, 2012 Nordstrom

Florida regulators will grill Praetorian execs as well as those from two insurers. Regulators in Florida will be questioning executives of two insurers and Praetorian Insurance Company this week regarding their policies and behaviors regarding force placed insurance policies. Significant controversy has been growing around this form of coverage. These policies are imposed on homeowners by lenders when coverage on the mortgaged property has been allowed to lapse or expired, as they are often sold by companies whose rates are unregulated, by surplus lines insurers, or by companies that are…

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…