Insurance Commissioner sues Sears for service contract violations

Sears at Aurora Square

Sears Roebuck and Co., Hoffman Estates, Ill.; fined $100,000, order 17-0037

Sears was a registered service contract provider in Washington state and was legally selling warranties to consumers.

The insurance commissioner suspended the company’s registration in March 2016 because it didn’t fulfill its financial responsibility requirements according to state law.

Effectively, the company’s net worth was too low to make the business financially viable. The commissioner issued the fine because the company waited 15 months to disclose its financial difficulty, a violation of state law.

During the 15-month period, Sears sold 4,171 jewelry service contracts and 2,836 service agreements to Washington consumers. The company has since transferred the service contracts to its financially solvent company, Sears Protection Co., which is authorized to sell service contracts in Washington state.

--Office of the Insurance Commissioner