Latest
Life Insurance & Annuities
& Related Newswire
6/20/2006 11:07:00 AM | Class Action Complaint Filed for Bank of America Trust, Estate and ... 
=(0) The Bank of America is facing a class action lawsuit by investors in their fiduciary accounts. The allegation is that the Bank preferentially purchased its proprietary Nations and Columbia funds for accounts, even though other funds were available that had better returns and lower fees. Further, the suit alleges that the prospectus' for Nations and...
Read More
6/16/2006 6:57:00 AM | Lawsuit accuses insurer of hiding fees =(0) A class-action lawsuit against Nationwide Insurance has been launched in Ohio. The suit alleges that Nationwide collected excessive fees for its term life insurance policies and did not make adequate disclosures of this to its customers. Those who paid in installments, as opposed to annually, were charged more than the "maximum" premium accord...
Read More
6/14/2006 3:01:00 AM | New York Teachers Union Settles Retirement Probe =(0) A New York State teachers' union has settled with the NY Attorney General over claims it encouraged its members to invest in annuities that had high fees, and received payment from the insurance company ING for doing so. The union will pay costs of the investigation, disclose its endorsement deals, hire independent advisors for its members to ...
Read More
6/14/2006 2:27:00 AM | Pension funds sue companies, cite backdated stock options =(0) Pension funds worldwide have begun suing individual companies over the dubious practice of backdating stock options. While not entirely illegal, the practice must be fully disclosed and accounted for, and in many cases under investigation, the backdating is suspected to be illegal. About forty US companies are now under scrutiny in this newest corp...
Read More
6/9/2006 5:36:00 AM | US state accuses ING units of fraud =(0) The State of New Hampshire has accused two subsidiaries of the ING Group of fraud and improper trading with regard to mutual fund trades in the state retirement plan. The company allegedly engaged in "market timing" practices which serve to enrich the traders but have a negative effect on the value of the funds. Other accusations are fail...
Read More
6/3/2006 1:51:00 AM | Allstate settles lawsuit brought by minorities =(0) Allstate has settled a class-action lawsuit first filed in Texas by six members of minority groups who claimed Allstate's pricing policy was discriminatory. Allstate used information from credit reports on consumers to establish risk, and the claim was that since minorities are often low-income, they have poorer credit scores, therefore the pr...
Read More
5/30/2006 8:39:00 AM | Coughing up smoker's rates for children =(0) A class action lawsuit is in the works after a father in Ohio discovered that he is paying a "smoker's rate" for his childrens' life insurance policies. The company sued is AXA Equitable Life Insurance. Some in the industry say it is a common practice since companies do not know which children will grow up to be smokers. Besides higher pr...
Read More
5/26/2006 3:44:00 AM | Hercules ordered to revise payments =(0) A judge has ordered chemical company Hercules Inc. to recalculate retirement benefits for some retired pensioners. This is part of a class-action lawsuit against the company by retirees who claim it illegally changed the interest rate used in some calculations of lump sum payment benefits owed. The remainder of the lawsuit has yet to be t...
Read More
5/24/2006 12:37:00 PM | NC Lawsuits Accuse Calif. Insurance Provider of Fraud =(0) The Attorney General of North Carolina is suing two financial services companies that operate in that state for deceptive practices. Roy Cooper alleges that American Family Prepaid Legal Corp. and Heritage Marketing and Insurance Services Inc. preyed on senior citizens, aggressively selling them financial products that were not suited to their need...
Read More
5/22/2006 3:39:00 AM | Some annuities may benefit salesmen more than retirees =(0) This article gives some examples of how unscrupulous high-pressure salespeople influence clients, particularly the elderly, to buy financial products that are ill-suited to their needs. The motivation is commission, which is especially lucrative for annuities; however for the elderly, annuities are often not a good investment because of their ...
Read More
5/17/2006 8:29:00 AM | SEC Files Fraud Charges against Bilking Broker - =(0) A broker associated with Linsco/Private Ledger Corp. (LPL) in Georgia has been charged with fraud by the SEC and terminated from that company. Dennis A. Martin allegedly forged document signatures and misrepresented investments to clients as an independent contractor to LPL and on behalf of a fictitious company, "First Financial Group". ...
Read More
5/10/2006 3:44:00 PM | The Hartford Apologizes, Pays $20 Million for Fraud in Annuity ... =(0) The Hartford Financial Services Group has settled with the Attornies General of New York and Connecticut over charges of fraud. It has issued an apology and will pay $20 million in fines and restitution. The Hartford acknowledges that it paid brokers for recommending their products, which were not competitively priced, and that these payments ...
Read More
4/4/2006 5:59:00 PM | Additional Wingler Insurance Scam Victim =(0) South Dakota insurance agent Ryan Wingler is in prison for scamming elderly residents by selling them non-existent insurance policies, yet victims are still coming forward. The insurer that employed Wingler, Allianz, is responsible for returning funds to victims under South Dakota law. The lesson here is, don't accept excuses for delays in processi...
Read More
3/31/2006 5:26:00 AM | Crazed knife-wielding man's widow fights insurance firm =(0) A widow is suing an insurance company in Canada for refusing payment on her husband's policy. What happened was, the woman served him with divorce papers which resulted in his becoming violent and stabbing her and her mother with a large knife. The women fled and called police, who eventually shot and killed the man when he made threatening gesture...
Read More
3/24/2006 5:48:00 PM | SEC Background paper: Protecting senior citizens from investment =(0) This article contains information on Security and Exchange Commission efforts to protect senior citizens from investment scams. The aims are education, enforcement, and examination of current practices. It references an SEC website with many useful resources: http://www.sec.gov/investor/seniors.shtml............
Read More
3/23/2006 3:03:00 AM | Former UM star claims insurance fraud =(0) Andre Johnson, a professional football player with the Houston Texans, is suing AmerUs Life Insurance and an insurance agent, claiming false representations with regard to policies he purchased. Mr. Johnson has a $39 million contract with the Texans, and purchased a $43 million policy whose premiums cost over $300,000 per year. He asserts that he w...
Read More
3/21/2006 8:28:00 AM | Fountain man given 10 years for fraud =(0) An Arizona man was sentenced to ten years in jail for fraud and money laundering after selling fraudulent investments to at least 300 people. The scam involved a so-called charitable gift annuities company but much of the money raised went to gambling and lavish purchases. The scam was discovered in 2001.............
Read More
3/19/2006 6:03:00 AM | Elderly couple win financial-abuse case =(0) This is the story of an elderly California couple who were among many who fell victim to an investment scam. They were taken in by promises of higher returns than they received at their bank, and that the investment was insured. The couple invested their life savings ($85,000) into a pyramid-like scheme and lost it all. They were recently awarded a...
Read More
3/17/2006 6:11:00 PM | Investment Advisor Charged with Fraud =(0) A Utah man was charged with four felony counts of theft and fraud for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from an elderly widow in an investment scheme. Fortunately she was able to recover most of her savings.............
Read More
3/10/2006 6:39:00 PM | Spitzer nearing more insurance settlements =(0) This article gives a brief status report on one of the lawsuits filed by NY Attorney General Eliot Spitzer against insurance companies and brokers. The charges involved bid-rigging and fraud. Settlements have been reached in some of the cases and are expected in others. Prudential is one of the companies named...................
Read More
Insurance & Hurricanes News 1