OSI Superintendent Russell Toal
OSI News:
SANTA FE — The Office of the Superintendent of Insurance (OSI) issued a final order in a case brought against self-storage facilities Northern Boulevard Storage and 528 Armor Storage.
Northern Boulevard and 528 Armor, and their ownership, New Crescendo LLC dba Crescendo Self Storage Management, attempted to evade state insurance licensing requirements by claiming that their Customer Storage Protection Agreement was not an insurance product.
The Superintendent’s final order found that the Protection Agreements were insurance products under New Mexico law and that the respondents not only sold these unapproved insurance products, while unlicensed, but also committed unfair insurance practices by charging customers for agreements which they did not agree to purchase.
OSI found more than 1,300 violations of the Self-Storage Insurance License Act, resulting in collection of $120,000 in fines. Northern Boulevard and 528 Armor also have been ordered to cease and desist their unlawful practices.
“The OSI takes consumer protection very seriously,” Superintendent Russell Toal said, “and will take aggressive action to protect consumers against businesses who fail to comply with the state’s insurance laws.”
Consumers concerned about fees paid to a self-storage facility can verify that the facility is a licensed insurance business entity at: https://www.osi.state.nm.us/
Complaints about self-storage facilities’ insurance fees or licensure may be filed at https://www.osi.state.nm.us/
