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Mortgage lender Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC and insurance giant Assurant Inc. have agreed to a $140 million class action lawsuit settlement over allegations they entered into a force-placed insurance scheme that charged homeowners inflated premiums for hazard, flood, flood-gap, or wind insurance coverage forced on their properties.
An estimated 400,000 Ocwen borrowers nationwide are included in the proposed Ocwen class action settlement, announced in April.
If approved, the settlement will resolve a 2014 class action lawsuit (Lee v. Ocwen Loan Servicing) that accuses Ocwen, Assurant and its subsidiary American Security Insurance Co. (collectively referred to as “Assurant”) of entering into “an extremely lucrative profit-making scheme that reaps hundreds of millions of dollars annually” at the cost of unsuspecting borrowers.
According to plaintiffs, Ocwen and Assurant entered into a collusive agreement that allowed Ocwen to receive unauthorized kickbacks from Assurant in the form of commissions or other payments by using Assurant as its lender-placed insurance provider.
Lender-placed insurance (also known as force-placed insurance) is hazard, flood, flood gap or wind insurance coverage that is placed on a borrower’s property by the mortgage lender to protect the borrower and lender when the borrower’s insurance policy lapses, or when the borrower does not maintain a homeowner’s insurance policy that is acceptable to the mortgage lender.
In addition to the illegal kickback allegations, the Ocwen force-placed insurance class action lawsuit alleges that the way in which Ocwen’s policies were obtained and placed caused borrowers to pay inflated rates for excessive coverage.
The Ocwen/Assurant force-placed insurance settlement was preliminarily approved on Dec. 18, 2014. A Final Fairness Hearing is scheduled for June 11, 2015.
Before the hearing, the defendants and plaintiffs must answer several questions raised by objectors about the fairness of the proposed class action settlement.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman agreed with the objectors, ruling May 13 that the parties need to disclose how much money Class Members would actually receive from the class action settlement, among other answers, before the Final Hearing. The parties have until May 26 to respond.
Who’s Eligible
Class Members of the Assurant, Ocwen force-placed insurance settlement include:
All borrowers in the United States who, from Jan 1., 2008 through Jan. 23, 2015, were charged by Ocwen under a hazard, flood, flood gap or wind-only LPI Policy for residential property, and who, within the Class Period, either (i) paid to Ocwen the Net Premium1 for that LPI Policy or (ii) did not pay to and still owe Ocwen the Net Premium for that LPI Policy.
Potential Award
Varies. Defendants have agreed to provide a cash award or credit in the amount of 12.5% of the Net Premium charged to the claimant during the Class Period for the LPI Policy by Ocwen.
More information about the actual amount of money you may be eligible to receive from the Ocwen class action settlement may be provided at a later date, but is not available at this time [See above re: Judge Goodman’s orders for more information regarding money for Class Members].
Proof of Purchase
You must provide several pieces of information with your Claim Form in order for it be considered valid, including but not limited to:
- Social Security Number
- Photo ID with signature
- Copy of an Ocwen mortgage statement issued to Claimant(s)
- Completed notary verification
Claim Form
Claim Form Deadline
7/22/2016
Claim Forms must be submitted online or mailed to the Settlement Administrator with a postmark no later than 60 days after the Final Settlement Date. This means this deadline may be changed to a later date if there are delays in approving the class action settlement, such as objections.
UPDATE: The Ocwen force-placed insurance class action settlement received final approval on Sept. 14, 2015. Class Members have until Dec. 14, 2015 to file a claim.
UPDATE 2: According to the settlement website, the settlement was appealed. The appeals were dismissed on May 23, 2016. Thus, the claim form deadline was changed to July 22, 2016.
Case Name
Jennifer Lee v. OCWEN Loan Servicing LLC, et al, Case No. 0:14-cv-60649, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Final Hearing
06/11/15
Settlement Website
www.LeeSettlementInfo.com
Claims Administrator
Lee Settlement Center
c/o Rust Consulting
P.O. Box 2225
Faribault, MN 55021-1625
877-294-6778
Class Counsel
Adam M. Moskowitz
KOZYAK, TROPIN, & THROCKMORTON, P .A.
Aaron S. Podhurst
PODHURST ORSECK, P .A.
Lance A. Harke
HARKE CLASBY & BUSHMAN LLP
Defense Counsel
Counsel for Assurant:
Frank G. Burt
CARLTON FIELDS JORDEN BURT, P.A.
Counsel for Ocwen:
Brian V. Otero
HUNTON & WILLIAMS LLP
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82 thoughts onOcwen, Assurant Force-Placed Insurance Class Action Settlement
Spoke with someone this past Friday, she told me checks would be issued this month of June and also told me the amount I would be receiving.
Someone on another post said they got a check 1126 week ago you have number to call
The number I called was 305-372-1800 she didn’t have a date when the checks would be mailed but sated they would be mailed this month. What post did someone say they received their payment on?
Click up top in the red writing where it’s says received final approval takes you to another post about ocwen insurance
I was not made aware of this lawsuit. I had forced home insurance on my property with Ocwen which forced many late payments and threats of foreclosure. How were customers of Ocwen notified and why I was not notified to join the class action? Anyone’s help is appreciated.
Richard, I received a claim form in the mail bout a cple years ago.
When will payment go out.!
Was just told distribution of checks wouldn’t be until June.. At first it was Mar or April… This is crazy.
I spoke with attorney at Rust Consulting (claims administrator). He told me they’ve (finally) finished reviewing all claims and are now waiting on class counsel to review $amounts so that checks can be sent out. He said it’d be 30-60 days for checks, so that’s March/April. Hopefully, our checks won’t be delayed any longer!
Any more updates to when settlement will be complete
Spoke with someone yesterday, she told me checks would be going out in March or April.
Just spoke with an representative from Kozay Tropin 1 305 728 2907 who indicated it still could take the rest of 2017 to issue checks. Apparently a lot of post settlement procedure’s along with claimants arguing that they did not get to file are holding it up. Makes me worry someone will say my claim filed in April 2015 was invalid. The rep said it is not uncommon for these types of actions to take 3 years
WOW
I wish someone would let us know something
Hello, I filled out forms for this class action , no one has notified me whats going on with ocwen please let me know something thanks.
I called today, of course regarding the force placed ins. “As of right now there is no date, for closing, or dispensing”
Wow, this is crazy, they charge a few thousand to my account, and too bad for me is how I feel!!!!
Hello fellow Ocwen homeowners, I just got off the phone to the attorney office 305 372 1800. Was told the case was appealed and might not be settled until next year. Our settlements can range from 0.25 to $250.00 also if we did not send the claim form certified mail to Ocwen it might not have entered it into the system. So if we sent it standard mail, it might not have been inputted into Ocwen. Another scam! THANKS OCWEN !!!
I called the Kozyak Tropin law office, after getting no response via email. I was told the case is still “pending” and currently, claims are in review. The assistant I spoke with was quick to downplay and minimize the amount Class Members will get. I had not even mentioned anything amounts, just asked for case status. This situation seems fishy and is irritating. I question how could the case still be pending if it was settled in December 2014 and the appeal was dismissed in May 2016. The assistant took my name & address and stated they will first call Ocwen to see whether I qualify for payment (I do) and if so, how much I’ll get, and that they’ll call be back possibly next week. I will wait a week for the call back, but will keep on top of this matter. We, the affected homeowners, are supposed to receive 12.5% of net premium paid for those forced-placed policies during the period between 01/01/2008 and 01/23/2015. We’re entitled to our money!!
Hi Mel, just curious, has anyone got back with you from the last time you spoke with them in regards to the settlement?