On February 7, 2008, the American Equity Investment Life Holding Company reached a settlement of a lawsuit over variable annuities with the Minnesota Attorney General. Hennepin County District Court Judge Kevin S. Burke approved the settlement that resolved all the issues raised in the lawsuit.
The settlement’s two primary components are (i) a defined suitability process for Minnesota consumers and (ii) a claims process for the past sales of certain variable annuity products where the senior consumers were either misinformed or received an unsuitable product.
Unfortunately, cases such as this one ? whether brought by a state attorney general or by a private attorney ? are too often necessary. This settlement deals with two of the most common abuses in the sale of variable annuities. Brokers often use deceptive sales practices in the sale of these products and often fail to explain the complicated features of these investments, such as the expenses and the high surrender charges for the first several years. Additionally, variable products themselves are often unsuitable for senior investors, especially those who may need access to their nest egg.
Page Perry is an Atlanta-based law firm with over 125 years collective experience representing investors in securities-related litigation and arbitration. While past results are not indicative of future success, Page Perry’s attorneys have recovered over $1,000,000 for clients on more than 30 occasions. Page Perry attorneys have successfully handled variable annuity and variable life insurance cases for over 20 years. The firm is currently involved in a number of variable product cases. For further information, please contact us.