We have extensive experience representing life insurance and annuity companies in litigation, regulatory enforcement and compliance matters. Those matters have arisen from almost every aspect of the development, pricing, marketing, underwriting, sale, administration and claims handling of whole, universal, variable and indexed life insurance as well as variable, fixed and indexed annuity contracts and retirement products.
In particular, we regularly defend clients in class and individual actions claiming fraud, unfair and deceptive trade practices, bad faith, breach of contract, ERISA violations, and other federal and state causes of action. We have defended clients in litigation alleging improper disclosures or other allegedly problematic sales practices, suitability or product performance issues, excessive product fees and charges, unlawful sales and executive compensation or third-party compensation arrangements, improper fund substitutions and “mapping,” excessive market value adjustments and fixed income spreads, improper policy administration, sale of annuities into tax-deferred retirement plans, market timing, bid-rigging, compliance deficiencies, discrimination (including disparate treatment and disparate impact allegations), and other matters. We have also advised and defended clients in matters that involve state departments of insurance, state attorneys general, the US Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
