Liberty Mutual Agrees to Repay $7.7M to Over 86,000 Policyholders in Consent Order With the Minn. Department of Commerce

ST. PAUL, Minnesota, Oct. 26 -- The Minnesota Department of Commerce issued the following news release:

Liberty Mutual has agreed to repay approximately $7.7 million to 86,506 policyholders for auto and homeowner insurance policies in the form of refunds, credits and premium discounts in a consent order with the Minnesota Department of Commerce. The order is the result of an investigation by Commerce's Enforcement Division, which alleges that Liberty Mutual violated several state insurance regulation laws.

"When consumers pay premiums for insurance policies, they are protected by state law to ensure they get what they pay for," said Commerce Commissioner Grace Arnold. "This case demonstrates Commerce's work to protect consumers and also ensure a fair and equitable marketplace."

The consent order involves Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, including several subsidiaries of Liberty Mutual that are licensed to do business in Minnesota, based on allegations that the company:

* Failed to offer the minimum antitheft protection device discount, related to auto insurance: Liberty Mutual has refunded/credited over $2.27 million to 53,604 current and former policyholders, averaging $42.41 per policyholder.

* Used an applicant's status as a residential tenant in offering or establishing multi-policy discounts, which was related to bundling auto and homeowners' insurance: Liberty Mutual has started refunding/crediting 7,700 current and former policyholders an estimated $2.7 million, averaging $350.65 per policyholder.

* Applied an automated rate increase in violate of state law, related to auto insurance: Liberty Mutual will issue $2.1 million in credits and $670,000 in refunds to about 11,800 current policyholders (average $177.96 each) and 8,700 former policyholders (average $77.01 each).

The consent order includes a civil penalty of $150,000, which will be stayed (not paid) as long as Liberty Mutual fully complies with the terms of the consent order.

The full consent order can be viewed here (https://mn.gov/commerce-stat/pdfs/news/2023/Liberty-Mutual-71176-Consent-Order.pdf).

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Minnesota Consumer Complaints and License Look-up

Minnesotans can file complaints about insurance companies: File a complaint online or contact the Minnesota Department of Commerce Consumer Service Center: [email protected] or at 651-539-1600.

Consumers can also verify that an insurance company is licensed to do business in Minnesota with our License Lookup or view past enforcement actions (https://www.cards.commerce.state.mn.us/).

Get updates and news from the Minnesota Department of Commerce by following Commerce at mn.gov/commerce or @MNCommerce on social media.

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Original text here: https://mn.gov/commerce/news/#/detail/appId/2/id/597285