A major auto warranty insurer is suing a former senior sales employee and a rival, claiming he walked out the door with pricing playbooks and customer lists.
That is the picture painted in a federal lawsuit filed April 28, 2026, by Assurant, Inc. and two of its affiliates - American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida and American Financial & Automotive Services - in the Southern District of Texas. The defendants are Brent Schouten, a former district manager in Assurant's dealer services division, and his new employer, iA American Warranty Group, L.P., a competitor in the auto finance and insurance world.
The filing tells a story familiar to anyone who has watched a top salesperson jump ship. Schouten, who sold vehicle service contracts, GAP insurance and extended warranty products to dealerships across Texas, New Mexico and Kansas, gave notice on January 9, 2026, framed as a retirement. According to the complaint, he was actually heading to iA in an executive leadership role.
What happened next, Assurant says, is where things turned. The company alleges that on his last day of employment, Schouten emailed himself a set of sensitive files - financial forecasts, pricing model spreadsheets and what the filing describes as "system access credentials" - then plugged an unauthorized USB device into his company laptop. The filing states he had been doing the same in the weeks before, sending himself a confidential training presentation, a document Assurant calls a "Go-To-Market Strategy," and customer lists and contact information for Houston and Kansas.
Assurant says it told Schouten in writing to preserve everything. Instead, the suit claims, he wiped his email and OneDrive before handing the laptop back.
There is also a written record at the center of the dispute. Schouten and iA signed a January 9, 2026 agreement in which they acknowledged that his Assurant covenants were "valid" and made compliance a condition of his employment. Yet once Assurant raised the alarm, the filing says, iA shifted position - calling the noncompetition covenant "unenforceable" and Assurant's concerns "unfounded."
Assurant is asking the court to keep Schouten out of the role for a year, force the return of any confidential material, and allow a forensic sweep of devices, storage media and email accounts on both sides. It is also seeking damages under the Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act, the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act, and on tortious interference and breach of contract theories.
For insurance professionals, the case is a reminder of how much competitive value sits in pricing models, dealer relationships and reinsurance model information - and how those protections can be tested when an executive moves to a competitor.
The allegations have not been tested in court. Schouten and iA have not yet filed a response, and no judge has ruled on any of Assurant's claims.
