Bank of America, QBE Settle Forced-Placed Insurance Class Action for $228 Million

Miami, FLEven though they have agreed to settle a proposed class-action Lender insurance lawsuit for $228 million, co-defendant Bank of America nonetheless doesn’t think it did anything wrong, according to a statement released by a spokesperson when the settlement was revealed. And while the announced settlement did not clarify if the defendants were required to admit to any wrongdoing, the brief statement pretty much says it all.

“Bank of America believes that its lender-placed hazard insurance practices comply fully with state and federal law,” bank spokesman Richard Simon said, in a statement. “Nevertheless, in order to put an end to this litigation, we have reached a settlement that is acceptable to all parties.”

QBE Insurance Corp., the other defendant in the Force-placed insurance lawsuit, did not comment. But if Bank of America fully complied with state and federal law, as the statement implies, then it did so while simultaneously violating state and federal laws, including the US Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), or so it was alleged by plaintiffs.

Rather than go to trial, it appears that Bank of America and QBE will pony up $228 million to make it all go away.

The settlement, reached in Miami federal court, is just the latest in a string of large settlements stemming from Forced-Placed Insurance Lawsuits that accuse banks and insurance carriers of inflating premiums unnecessarily on lenders insurance.

The latter is a product that banks, when holding a mortgage on a property, will apply to an asset if and when the homeowner either fails to maintain the proper insurance coverage or allows insurance to lapse. With a financial stake in the property, mortgage holders (the bank) are understandably unhappy with such a situation and will take steps to impose a Force-Place insurance policy on the asset, a function that is a protected right within any mortgage agreement. To wit, the homeowner is required to carry adequate insurance. Failing that, the bank has the authority to place insurance on the asset to protect the investment.

More money for less coverage

Sounds fair. But here’s where things have gone off the rails. Many homeowners have found that not only are the forced-placed insurance terms far more costly than conventional insurance, the amount of coverage is often less than conventional products.

Many a force-placed insurance lawsuit has claimed that this is due to an alleged cozy relationship between the banks holding the mortgages and the insurance carriers providing the insurance products. There have been allegations of kickbacks, with the costs of those kickbacks passed along to the consumer by way of inflated premiums.

There have been several settlements. The latest $228 million settlement agreed to by Bank of America and QBE - while claiming to have complied with all state and federal laws - is just the latest installment in a serial nightmare for affected homeowners.

The proposed Force-Place insurance class action was filed in 2012 and covers Bank of America clients who were dealt lenders insurance between January 2008 and February of this year. Class members are expected to recover hundreds, and in some cases, thousands of dollars from the settlement, say Forced-Place Insurance attorneys conversant with the settlement revealed April 3 in US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, according to Reuters (4/7/14).

The settlement places Bank of America amongst other banks having settled similar lawsuits in recent months, including JPMorgan Chase, Citibank and HSBC Bank USA.

The case is: Cheryl Hall et al v Bank of America N.A. et al, US District Court, Southern District of Florida, Case No. 12-cv-227