Select Portfolio Servicing Force-Placed Insurance Settlement

A proposed settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit alleging Select Portfolio Servicing Inc. (SPS) force-placed insurance on borrowers’ property in such a way that SPS received an unauthorized benefit.

If you were charged by Select Portfolio Servicing for a lender-placed insurance policy for your residential property between July 11, 2010 and Oct. 15, 2015, and you did not pay but still owe the premium for that policy, you may be eligible for benefits from this class action settlement.

Force-placed insurance, also called lender-placed insurance, is a type of insurance (in this case hazard or wind-only) that is placed on a borrower’s property when the borrower’s insurance policy lapses, or when the borrower fails to maintain an insurance property that is acceptable to the mortgage lender.

When a lender-placed insurance policy is placed on a homeowner’s property, Select Portfolio Servicing pays premiums to the insurance company that writes the policy, and SPS charges the borrowers for those premiums.

The plaintiffs allege SPS force-placed insurance policies so that it received an unauthorized benefit in the form of “kickbacks” from the Assurant defendants. These kickbacks allegedly took the form of commissions, profits or other income or benefits from the Assurant defendants.

The defendants deny any wrongdoing but agreed to settle the force-placed insurance class action lawsuit to avoid the cost and risk of trial.

Who’s Eligible

Class Members of the Select Portfolio Servicing settlement include the following:

“All Borrowers in the United States who, within the Class Period [July 11, 2010 through Oct. 15, 2015], were charged by SPS under a hazard or wind-only LPI Policy for Residential property and who, within the Class Period, either (i) paid to SPS the Net Premium for that LPI Policy or (ii) did not pay to and still owe SPS the Net Premium for that LPI Policy.”

If you meet this definition but your account was credited fully for premiums charged or if the charges were fully reversed, you are not eligible for benefits from this class action settlement.

Under the terms of the class action settlement, “Net Premium” refers to the amount of premium charged for a force-placed insurance policy during the Class Period, minus any refund paid or credited to the Class Member.

Potential Award

Varies.

Eligible Class Members who file timely and valid Claim Forms will receive a cash award or a credit of an amount equal to 12.5 percent, 6.5 percent or 5 percent of the net premium they were charged by SPS during the Class Period.

The percentage amount each Class Member will receive depends on when they were charged and what type of force-placed insurance policy they received.

Proof of Purchase

Class Members may be asked to provide verification documentation when submitting a Claim Form.

Claim Form

CLICK HERE TO FILE A CLAIM »

Class Members who would prefer mailing in their Claim Form, can download a printable version here!

Claim Form Deadline

No earlier than July 25, 2016.

Case Name

Juan Almanzar, et al. v. Select Portfolio Servicing Inc., et al., Case No. 14-cv-22586-Moreno, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

Final Hearing

03/25/2016

Settlement Website

www.AlmanzarSettlementInfo.com

Claims Administrator

Claims Administrator
c/o Rust Consulting
P.O. Box 2445
Faribault, MN 55021-9140
1-855-287-1273

Class Counsel

Adam M. Moskowitz
KOZYAK TROPIN & THROCKMORTON PA

Aaron S. Podhurst
PODHURST ORSECK PA

Lance A. Harke
HARKE CLASBY & BUSHMAN LLP

Defense Counsel

Counsel for Select Portfolio Servicing:
Thomas M. Hefferon
David S. Kantrowitz
GOODWIN PROCTER LLP

Counsel for Assurant Defendants:
Frank G. Burt
CARLTON FIELDS JORDEN BURT PA