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Forced Placed Insurance Policy Lawsuits

Forced Placed Insurance Policy | Lawsuits, Lawyers | Deceptive, Lending Policies, Policy

The lawyers at our firm are offering free consultations to consumers victimized by forced placed insurance policies.  Also known as lender placed insurance policies,  this is insurance that banks and other mortgage lenders force consumers to buy.  In many cases, lenders use forced placed insurance policies to take advantage of borrowers.

If you believe a lender has taken advantage of you through a forced placed insurance policy, you may be entitled to compensation.  Our forced placed insurance policy lawyers are currently investigating a potential class action lawsuit against lenders who engage in  deceptive and unfair lender placed insurance policy practices.  If you are interested in joining our lender placed insurance policy class action lawsuit, we urge you to contact us right away to protect your legal rights.

Deceptive Lender Practices

Normal home mortgage agreements include a promise to maintain a homeowner's insurance policy on the house. Many people don't realize that if they let that insurance lapse, banks and other lenders can legally re-insure their home loan by buying insurance to replace it and making the homebuyer pay for it.

Our forced placed insurance policy lawyers have found that many lenders take advantage of this mortgage provision as an excuse to increase the fees they charge to borrowers.  Lender placed insurance policies are  almost always more expensive than insurance coverage you can purchase yourself.  There have been many instances when  lenders have forced these policies on borrowers who do not need them simply to increase their profits.

In addition to being more expensive than a policy you can buy on your own, lender forced insurance policies almost always offer the borrower less protection.  The primary purpose of a forced placed insurance policy is to protect the mortgage holder, not the property owner. Such a policy may not insure the full value of your home, only the amount covered by your loan.  Most forced placed insurance policies do not insure the contents of a property.  In either case, you could sustain a substantial loss if your home is damaged or destroyed.

Mortgage loan documents usually allow the lender to force place insurance when the homeowner fails to maintain the insurance, and to add the premium to the loan balance. However, our forced placed insurance policy lawyers are aware of cases when predatory lenders force placed insurance even when the homeowner had insurance.

Lender placed insurance should only be placed when a lender receives information that a borrower's insurance policy as lapsed. Once a lender  receives evidence that a borrower has once again obtained insurance, the forced placed coverage should be fully or partially canceled.

Often, when lenders purchase insurance on a borrower’s behalf,  they will opt to buy an  exorbitantly priced policy.  Our forced placed insurance policy lawyers are aware of cases when borrowers were charged premiums three times higher than what a consumer would pay on the open market.  Often the insurance carrier is a company affiliated with the lender, and the forced placed insurance is padded because it covers the lender for risks or losses in excess of what the lender may require under the terms of the loan.

Our forced placed insurance lawyers have also learned of lenders that charged  borrowers more than the actual cost of an insurance policy.  Retaining  commission in this way is improper, and a borrower is entitled to have the excess cost refunded.

Avoiding Forced Placed Insurance

In most cases, when a consumer has a mortgage, insurance premiums are added to their mortgage payment.   The bills and other communications from the insurance company are sent directly to the lender.  While this arrangement is usually convenient for all parties, it can set up an opportunity for a creditor to take advantage of a borrower with a forced placed insurance policy.

Under such an arrangement, if an insurance company decides to cancel a policy, it may only inform the lender. Our forced placed insurance policy lawyers know of many cases of a lender, having learned that  an insurance policy was about to be canceled, purposely failed to inform the borrower. Once the policy lapsed, the lender imposed a more expensive forced placed insurance policy.

The most important thing a consumer can do to avoid forced placed insurance is to keep their insurance policies current.  If you pay your premiums into an escrow account, make sure that your insurer provides you with copies of any correspondence - especially cancellation notices - that it sends to your lender.

If your insurance policy is canceled, most states require that the insurance company provide enough notice so that you have time to find another policy before the old one expires.  If you receive a cancellation notice, start shopping for new insurance right away so that your lender is not able to impose a forced placed insurance policy.  Remember, any policy you obtain on your own is guaranteed to cost less than a policy a lender provides.

Legal Help for Victims of Forced Placed Insurance Policy

If you believe your lender has taken advantage of you through a forced placed insurance policy, you have valuable legal rights.  Please fill out our online form  or call 1-800 LAW INFO (1-800-529-4636) right away to discuss joining our forced placed insurance policy class action lawsuit.