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Breach of Contract Life Insurance

Dickinson Wright

The Hazards of Not Changing Beneficiaries Post-Divorce

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A recent case by the Tennessee Court of Appeals highlights the importance of changing one’s insurance and retirement policy beneficiaries after divorce. This is true no matter what the divorce documents say and no matter what...more

Stark & Stark

A Simple Guide: What if My Life Insurance Claim Is Denied?

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How does the life insurance claims process work? Industry surveys contend that life insurance claims are denied less than 5% of the time, while others more skeptical of the life insurance industry believe the denial rate is...more

Carlton Fields

Litigation Under Construction: Recent Life Insurance and Long-Term Care Developments

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In Potovsky v. Lincoln Benefit Life Co., the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of the insureds’ complaint for failure to sufficiently allege damages regarding the denial of a long-term care claim....more

Carlton Fields

Case Closed: Overview of Life, Disability, and Long-Term Care Insurance Litigation

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In a split decision, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed summary judgment in PHT Holding I LLC v. Security Life of Denver Insurance Co., rejecting the plaintiff’s claim that the defendant-insurer breached the...more

Carlton Fields

The Mystery Continues: IUL Proprietary Indices Challenged in RICO Suit

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Since the enactment of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, it has been invoked in civil litigation with mixed results. Congress did not intend for RICO to become a surrogate for plaintiffs’ state...more

Bennett Jones LLP

Ontario Court of Appeal Holds That a Claim is Limitations-Barred for an Entire Class

Bennett Jones LLP on

In Fehr v Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, 2024 ONCA 847 (Fehr), the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed the representative plaintiffs’ appeal seeking post-certification leave to amend their statement of claim and to...more

Miller Nash LLP

The Initial Impact of Moody? More Confusion.

Miller Nash LLP on

Until recently, Oregon courts did not allow policyholders to bring claims against their insurers under Oregon’s Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act and only allowed tort-based “bad faith” claims in narrow circumstances....more

Alston & Bird

Insurance Insights for the Dog Days of August

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Welcome to the inaugural issue of Insurance Insights, a gathering of notable legal developments and trends relevant to the insurance industry. In this issue, the California Supreme Court covers COVID-19 claims, Georgia...more

Carlton Fields

Insurer Must Consider “Expectations of Future Mortality Experience” When Reassessing, Redetermining, and Changing COI Rates

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In Advance Trust & Life Escrow Services, LTA v. Protective Life Insurance Co. (Mar. 2, 2024), the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s dismissal of breach of contract...more

Carlton Fields

Ringmaster’s Review: Fall 2023 Litigation on Parade

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In Ross v. Venerable Insurance & Annuity Co., a Missouri appellate court reversed judgment in favor of the named beneficiary of a flexible premium deferred annuity contract. Following the annuitant’s death, the beneficiary...more

Carlton Fields

Expect Focus - Volume III, September 2023

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Regulators Hit Jackpot: Off-Channel Communications - Several years before announcing the first “off-channel” communications enforcement action, the SEC and FINRA cautioned broker-dealers and investment advisers about...more

King & Spalding

What Does “Based On” Mean?

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In Cost of Insurance Litigation, Courts Continue to Disagree Over the Meaning of the Key Contractual Provision - If you see a movie that is “based on a true story,” how close to the story are you expecting the movie to be?...more

Rumberger | Kirk

McHugh, Thomas, and the Long-Term Risk of California Insurance Code Sections 10113.71 and 10113.72

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In 2012, the California Legisla­ture enacted changes to the California Insurance Code that provide protections intended to shield consumers from los­ing life insurance coverage due to late or missed insurance premium...more

Carlton Fields

Annuity Litigation Roundup

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Court Emphasizes Disclosure Substance Over Form - A recent decision in Nofsinger v. Jackson National Life Insurance Co. shut down a putative class action in which the plaintiff alleged she surrendered her annuity contract...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Early Dismissal of Complaint Challenging Universal Life Credited Rates

While challenges to insurers’ exercises of discretion in setting cost of insurance rates has been the principal focus of litigation involving universal life (UL) insurance products for quite some time, a putative class action...more

Cozen O'Connor

Secondary Market Investor Files Interest Rate Class Action

Cozen O'Connor on

After years of pursuing life insurers with Cost of Insurance (COI) class actions, we are now seeing a new life insurance secondary market investor strategy — suing life insurers on a class action basis for not paying enough...more

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

SDNY Rules on Class Plaintiffs' Motion for Class Certification in AXA COI Litigation

On August 13, 2020, in the putative class action challenging AXA’s COI rate increase on Athena Universal Life II (“AUL II”) policies, Judge Jesse M. Furman of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New...more

Carlton Fields

2019 Year-End Class Action Roundup

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Life insurers bid farewell to a fairly moderate year of class action litigation. Although several class actions were filed against life insurers in the last quarter of 2019, the filings were reflective of the litigation...more

Carlton Fields

Not So Fast: Court Upholds Denial of Request for Accelerated Life Insurance Payment

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The Ninth Circuit recently affirmed a summary judgment ruling in favor of Minnesota Life Insurance Co. on all claims stemming from its denial of an accelerated life insurance payment. ...more

Carlton Fields

The Risk and Reward of Life Insurance

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No Recovery for Paying Premiums in Excess of Policy Face Amount - Since we last reported on Goostree v. Liberty National Life Insurance Co. in the October 2019 issue of Expect Focus — Life, Annuity, and Retirement Solutions,...more

Carlton Fields

Eleventh Circuit Takes Life Insurance Reinstatement Claims at Face Value for CAFA Amount-In-Controversy Purposes

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The Eleventh Circuit recently examined the application of the $5 million amount-in-controversy requirement under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) to disputes over life insurance premiums and policies. It concluded that...more

Carlton Fields

Class Action Roundup

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McClendon v. North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Co. (M.D. Tenn. 2019) - In McClendon, the plaintiff’s mother purchased a whole life insurance policy to insure the plaintiff’s brother, and subsequently took out a loan on...more

White and Williams LLP

Third Circuit Clarifies Intent Requirement for Suicide Exclusion in Life Insurance Policies Under New Jersey Law

White and Williams LLP on

On September 18, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued an opinion in Arena v. Riversource Life Insurance Company, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 28052 (3d Cir. Sep. 18, 2019) (non-precedential), affirming the...more

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

State Farm Ruling Opens Door for Conversion Claims Against Insurers Who Impose Unlawful Cost of Insurance Rate Increases

On August 19, 2019 a federal judge in the Northern District of California denied State Farm Life Insurance Company’s (State Farm) motion for summary judgment on Plaintiff Elizabeth A. Bally’s claims for conversion and breach...more

Morris James LLP

Formulaic Recitations of Equitable Jurisdiction Are Not Enough for Court of Chancery Jurisdiction

Morris James LLP on

Athene Life and Annuity Co. v. Am. Gen. Life Ins. Co., C.A. No. 2018-0244-SG (Del. Ch. July 31, 2019). The Court of Chancery is a court of limited jurisdiction. It maintains subject matter jurisdiction only for (i)...more

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