Florida auto insurer agrees to settle class action by paying storage and transfer fees

A Florida insurance company has agreed to settle a class action suit by paying title and tag transfer fees along with storage and towing charges dating back to 2018, according to court documents. 

Andrew P. Irvin, of Irvin & Irvin PLLC, said this is possibly the first class action settlement for storage fees. 

The lawsuit, Maxim Kharevich v. Star Casualty Insurance Company, alleges that Star Casualty breached its auto insurance policies by failing to pay title transfer fees and tag transfer fees on total loss claims, a website for the settlement states. It also alleges the insurance carrier improperly deducted storage and towing charges from actual cash value payments. 

Star Casualty denies the allegations, according to the website. 

Irvin said his client contacted him regarding Star Casualty Insurance Company not paying fees. Upon further investigation he determined that the behavior was widespread. 

About 2,500 consumers are eligible for payment through the suit for not having their title or tag transfer fees paid, he said. About 1,000 consumers are eligible because of towing and storage fee deductions. 

Irvin said the consumer attempted to contact the insurance company for weeks about his vehicle sitting at the repair shop. 

“This guy was emailing them all the time and not getting a response,” Irvin said.

The insurance carrier has agreed to pay money eligible to settlement class members up to $79 in unpaid title transfer fees and tag transfer fees and/or repayment of any excess storage and towing deductions applied to the actual cash value (ACV) payment, capped at $25 a day for up to eight days with a $200 maximum. 

The payments include prejudgement interest and are offset by any amounts previously paid for the same fees or storage, the website adds. 

To receive a payment, a claim form must be submitted by Oct. 26. 

Eligible settlement class members were insured under a Florida auto insurance policy issued by Star Casualty between March 22, 2018 and June 26, 2026 and submitted a first-party claim that was adjusted as a total loss and settled by the insurance company on an ACV basis. The claimant also did not receive the full amount of title transfer fees and tag transfer fees and/or had excess storage and towing charges deducted from their ACV payment.

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