Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley today issued a warning to consumers reminding them to check their bank and insurance statements for irregular activity. Recent disclosures indicate that Wells Fargo may have billed consumers for auto or home insurance that was not needed.
Home loan lenders, and some auto loan lenders, may require consumers to have insurance policies to cover the property that was financed by the loan. If the consumer does not obtain the coverage on their own, the lender might purchase a policy on its own and bill it back to the consumer through a practice known as “force-placed insurance.”
According to recent news reports, however, Wells Fargo may have been billing consumers for force-placed insurance, even though the consumer had purchased their own separate policy. In some cases, the amounts for this duplicative insurance may have been added to the consumer’s bill and automatically debited from their bank account. Consumers should check their records to be certain that they are not being billed for policies that they do not need.
“We will work to stop the illegal placement of unnecessary insurance,” Hawley said. “Consumers should check to see if they are being charged for duplicative insurance, whether on their home or vehicle. If one of those policies is not necessary or if the policy was placed without the consumer’s knowledge, my Office wants to hear about it.”
Attorney General Hawley asks Missourians to let his Office know if they discover that they are being charged for unnecessary policies. If you find that you were wrongfully charged for force-placed insurance, call the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-392-8222.
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