Post by Logan on Feb 18, 2016 23:28:55 GMT -6
Thousands of Massachusetts residents who were improperly charged for additional property insurance will receive refunds from HSBC Holdings PLC, which received commissions from an insurance company for sending clients its way, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said Thursday.
The London bank will pay refunds of $2.7 million to affected homeowners and an additional $1.4 million to the state, according to the attorney general.
The bank obtained the insurance for borrowers it suspected didn’t have enough homeowners coverage because they had fallen behind on mortgage payments or other bills. That insurance, called force-placed because homeowners have no choice but to take it, usually costs up to three times as much as traditional ones, according Healey.
A subsidiary of HSBC allegedly received commissions from the insurance company, Assurant, Inc., for the sale of these policies. The arrangement, Healey said, created an improper conflict of interest and violated the state’s consumer protection laws.
Read more: www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/02/18/hsbc-pay-mass-homeowners-over-insurance-practices/qv3sWDgMjIAeWxmmi11SuK/story.html
The London bank will pay refunds of $2.7 million to affected homeowners and an additional $1.4 million to the state, according to the attorney general.
The bank obtained the insurance for borrowers it suspected didn’t have enough homeowners coverage because they had fallen behind on mortgage payments or other bills. That insurance, called force-placed because homeowners have no choice but to take it, usually costs up to three times as much as traditional ones, according Healey.
A subsidiary of HSBC allegedly received commissions from the insurance company, Assurant, Inc., for the sale of these policies. The arrangement, Healey said, created an improper conflict of interest and violated the state’s consumer protection laws.
Read more: www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/02/18/hsbc-pay-mass-homeowners-over-insurance-practices/qv3sWDgMjIAeWxmmi11SuK/story.html