Ocwen Fined $1 Million for Force-Placed Insurance Penalty _Draft
Ocwen Financial Corp. has agreed to a $1 million penalty for failing to meet the terms of the National Mortgage Settlement by not properly refunding force-placed insurance premiums to certain borrowers during the first quarter of 2017.
Ocwen’s fine is related to the termination of force-placed insurance that was required under a 2014 national mortgage servicing settlement, according to court filings. The mortgage firm exceeded the maximum 5 percent error rate on a metric in the settlement that requires the firm to terminate certain force-placed insurance policies and refund prorated premiums within 15 days during the first quarter of 2017, according to a filing in the D.C. district court by state attorneys general charged with monitoring the settlement.
The monitor’s office found problems with the force-placed insurance remediation test under that exam, according to the filing. The settlement mandates that any firm that has a problem in the first exam after being subject to an order to fix earlier problems be required to pay a $1 million penalty, according to the order.
Ocwen reached a 6.54 percent error rate in the first quarter of 2017, the court filing said.