Continuing its retreat from the insurance business, Wells Fargo said Tuesday that it will stop offering personal insurance.
The San Francisco bank will immediately begin winding down its marketing of personal insurance products and plans to exit the business during the first quarter of next year. In a news release, the company said that its decision follows a strategic assessment that began in October.
Personal insurance products currently available from Wells Fargo include auto insurance, homeowners insurance and renters insurance. The policies are brokered by Wells, which offers quotes from multiple insurance companies.
Amid a larger scandal about fraudulent sales practices at Wells, the $1.9 trillion-asset bank has been dogged by allegations involving misconduct in the sale of certain insurance products.
Wells employees were accused late last year of improperly selling low-cost life insurance policies from Prudential Financial. Then in August, Wells Fargo disclosed that it had identified certain issues regarding refunds of the unused portions of insurance policies taken out by automobile owners whose vehicles are worth less than they owe on their loans.
In Tuesday’s press release, Wells Fargo said that the financial performance of its personal insurance business was not material to the company.
“Wells Fargo continually reviews our product and service offerings to ensure they meet our customers’ need and align with the company’s long-term strategic goals,” Laurie Nordquist, head of personal insurance at Wells, said in the press release.
Wells has sold three of its insurance businesses in the last two years. It announced the sale of its crop insurance business in December 2015, its commercial insurance brokerage business in June of this year, and its crop insurance brokerage business earlier this month.
The personal insurance business is the last remaining insurance brokerage agency in Wells Fargo’s portfolio.
