California’s Department of Insurance has served an accusation against Wells Fargo Bank and its insurance business, with the intent to suspend or revoke the bank’s licenses for alleged abusive insurance sales practices.
"Consumers should not be treated like chattel by corporations who take advantage of and abuse the consumers' trust," insurance commissioner Dave Jones said in a release. "Companies licensed to transact insurance have an obligation to act with integrity, to obtain consumer consent before placing insurance, to disclose relevant and material information, and to comply with all state insurance laws."
A release said that the accusation is a result of an investigation opened at the request of the commissioner. The investigation found that from 2008 to 2016, Wells Fargo customers were issued about 1,500 insurance policies without their knowledge or permission.
In several cases, the bank’s employees told customers to enter their personal information on a policy application merely to receive a quote. However, these applications would be later sent to the insurer to purchase the policy without the consumer’s consent, the investigation found.
Reuters attempted to contact Wells Fargo for a comment on the accusation, but the bank was not immediately available for a statement.
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