Courtney Jorstad  |  October 31, 2014

Category: Consumer News

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HSBC force placed insurance settlementA HSBC Bank USA NA force-placed insurance class action settlement received final approval Wednesday from a Florida federal judge, in which over 250,000 homeowners claim they were overcharged due to hazard insurance policies being force-placed upon them by the bank, with the settlement totaling $32 million.

Three insurance companies — Assurant Inc., American Security Insurance Co. and Standard Guaranty Insurance Co.  — were also charged with being complicit in the practice. The insurance companies and plaintiff Darlene Diaz asked U.S. District Judge Federico A. Moreno to grant final approval to the HSBC class action settlement in September.

The force-placed insurance class action lawsuit included injunctive relief, monetary relief, and $10 million in attorneys’ fees.

Judge Moreno approved the force-placed insurance settlement as-is even though on Oct. 1 he had recommended that the plaintiffs and defendants add a cy pres award to a university or foundation that works with homeowners that are behind on their mortgages for settlement money that is not claimed, as well as other additions, if they wanted final approval.

The Class had argued that making the suggested changes would “fundamentally alter the settlement’s design.”

However, Judge Moreno said in his final approval that he thinks the HSBC force-placed insurance class action settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate.

There were 11 Class Members who apparently had a conflict of interest due to a named plaintiff who is an attorney and partner at the law firm representing the Class, but those Class Members have pulled the objections they had to the class action settlement, Judge Moreno explained in his order, which puts the number of Class Members at 252,464.

The force-placed insurance class action lawsuit was filed by plaintiff Javier Lopez in November 2012, which included a consolidated class action against five mortgage lenders, but in March the plaintiffs were told to file a single force-placed insurance class action lawsuit against each bank and insurance company.

In March, the Class, led by Diaz, filed the force-placed insurance class action lawsuit against HSBC, Assurant and subsidiaries, alleging that the defendants force-placed overpriced insurance plans on their mortgage policies when the plaintiffs’ insurance policies lapsed.

HSBC had allegedly made arrangements with the insurance companies to give the bank kickbacks from these inflated insurance prices.

The practice of forcing a hazard insurance policy by a lender on a policy holder if he or she has an insurance policy lapses itself is not illegal and is something that is part of a mortgage loan agreement. Banks and lenders are allowed to put a lender-placed or force-placed hazard insurance policies on properties they are funding, but they are not supposed to charge more than the market-rate for such things.

Diaz and the other Class Members asked the Florida federal court to give the HSBC force-placed insurance class action settlement preliminary approval in that same month.

They asked that 13 percent of the net premium be refunded by HSBC and Assurant to Class Members who were made to pay the higher premiums and 6 percent to those that never paid for the premiums even though they were charged.

The HSBC force-placed insurance class action settlement, which was granted preliminary approval in July, is for any mortgage borrowers in the United States who were overcharged for hazard insurance policies by the bank and insurers beginning in Jan. 1, 2005 until the date of the preliminary approval.

This force-placed insurance class action lawsuit is similar to several others that allege banks and insurance companies abused a common practice by making arrangements to overcharge borrowers and manipulating the market for such hazard insurance policies, resulting in kickbacks in the name of commissions.

For detailed instructions on how to file a claim for the HSBC force-placed insurance class action settlement, click here or visit www.DiazSettlementInfo.com.

The plaintiffs are represented by Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton PA, Podhurst Orseck PA and Harke Clasby & Bushman LLP, among others.

HSBC is represented by Strook & Strook & Lavan LLP. Assurant is represented by Carlton Fields Jordan Burt LLP.

The HSBC Bank Force-Placed Insurance Class Action Lawsuit is Javier Lopez, et al. v. HSBC Bank USA NA, et al., Case No. 1:13-cv-21104, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

UPDATE: On Dec. 10, 2015, readers began reporting that they were receiving checks in the mail from the HSBC class action settlement. Congratulations to everyone who submitted a valid claim and got PAID!

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10 thoughts onHSBC Force-Placed Insurance Settlement Receives Final Approval

  1. sandra vermilyer says:

    submitted a claim and heard nothing. How can I contact someone to find answers

    1. Top Class Actions says:

      You’ll need to contact the settlement administrator or class counsel for the case. The settlement administrator was KCC: http://www.kccllc.com/. Class counsel is listed at the bottom of the article, and you can Google for contact information. We wish you the best of luck in getting an update on your claim!

  2. Top Class Actions says:

    UPDATE: On Dec. 10, 2015, readers began reporting that they were receiving checks in the mail from the HSBC class action settlement. Congratulations to everyone who submitted a valid claim and got PAID!

  3. Andrea says:

    Received check today for 835.43, dated 12/07/2015

  4. Andrea says:

    Received check today for 834.53, dated 12/07/2015

  5. Gs3007 says:

    UPDATE – The Settlement became Final and Effective on June 10, 2015. According to the Settlement Agreement, the Claims Administrator shall have one hundred eighty (180) days after June 10, 2015 to process all of the Claim Forms it receives and send payments out to eligible Claimants. Accordingly, payments will go out no later than December 7, 2015

  6. Julie S says:

    So here it is September 2015 and haven’t heard a thing from anybody. Where is the update or status on my claim? Anybody know?

  7. Roy Mattox says:

    When will settlement be paid.
    Filled out claim form months ago..

  8. Carrissa Dempson says:

    I filed a claim form however have not heard anything. Please share update/status on my claim

  9. molica blackburn says:

    I already filed a claim, but how will this settlement be dispersed to the homeowners?

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