Lender and insurer gouged me — and others — Florida homeowner says
Think your homeowners insurance is outrageous? Mark Kunzelmann likely has you beat.
Kunzelmann, a 49-year-old network specialist, let the policy on his four-bedroom, North Palm Beach home lapse last year. It was a big mistake, he acknowledges.
But he can’t believe what the oversight (later remedied) cost him: $10,000 for just a few months worth of coverage. And he has his bank, Wells Fargo, and its insurance partner, Assurant, to thank.
As most homeowners are aware, if your property is financed, you have to have insurance to protect the lender. If a bank learns a mortgage holder is not covered, it is allowed to secure a policy and pass the charge on to the customer. In Kunzelmann’s case, Wells Fargo got him a policy that carried a startlingly high cost.
How high? Roughly $18,000 a year — of which, he says, the bank got an 11 percent commission. By comparison, Kunzelmann’s old policy, the one he let lapse, was costing him just $2,500.
“It left a very bad taste in my mouth,” Kunzelmann said Wednesday. “I told them, ‘If you do this to me, I’m going to sue you and take my business elsewhere.’ ”
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Had this happen back in 1998 with Beneficial and Fremont.Everybody wake up this has been an ongoing situation for years.Where has everyone been?I guess it must be if it doesn’t effect me then I don’t know about it mentality.The mortgage industry is full of graft,greed and corruption has been for at least 20+ years and people are just now starting to notice.