We use cookies to give you the best online experience. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies in accordance with our cookie policy. Learn more here.Close Me
Michigan is one of forty states that have to date joined in a
$40 million settlement agreement with Metropolitan Life Insurance
Company ("MetLife") over allegations that MetLife
asymmetrically used the Social Security Administration's Death
Master File ("DMF"), avoiding the discovery of names of
its deceased life insurance policyholders.
The DMF is a database created and updated on a quarterly basis
by the Social Security Administration. It contains upwards of 60
million death notices for individuals enrolled in the Social
Security Program over the last 80 years, with information culled
from government agencies as well as funeral directors and financial
professionals.
Regulators from a number of states initiated an investigation
into MetLife's practices based on allegations that MetLife was
using the DMF to identify deceased annuitants so that MetLife could
cease making annuity payments, but failed to similarly use the
database to identify deceased life insurance policyholders. The
National Association of Insurance Commissioners coordinated the
investigation and created a multi-state task force in 2011 to
oversee state efforts.
In addition to MetLife's agreement to provide $40 million to
participating states to cover the costs of the investigation,
MetLife agreed to make additional payments to unpaid beneficiaries
in an amount which could exceed $400 million. MetLife is required
by the terms of the settlement to use the DMF or a similar records
database to identify deceased policyholders and to pay interest on
unpaid claims dating back to 1995. The settlement also requires
MetLife to attempt to locate beneficiaries of individuals
identified in its review of the DMF and to report any unpaid funds
as unclaimed property to state insurance agencies if no beneficiary
is identified.
Additional states have until June 29 to participate in the
settlement with MetLife, but a sufficient number of jurisdictions
have already joined the agreement to trigger MetLife's payment
obligations.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
To print this article, all you need is to be registered on Mondaq.com.
Click to Login as an existing user or Register so you can print this article.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has gone from a distant deadline to an imminent reality, with the controversial "play or pay" provisions scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2014.
A commentary on a recent decision in the case of Engineering & Construction Innovations, Inc., v. L. H. Bolduc Co., interpreting a subcontractor's agreement to indemnify a contractor, the subcontractor's contractual obligation to procure insurance to cover that indemnity agreement and the impact of the Minnesota anti-indemnification statute on such contract provisions.
Less than two weeks apart, two appellate courts issued opinions analyzing whether faulty work claims are covered under commercial general liability policies, each reaching a different result.
Like many companies who made products containing asbestos, Kaiser Cement and Gypsum Corporation has over the past several decades defended thousands of asbestos bodily injury claims brought by construction workers who allege they were exposed and suffered bodily injury resulting from exposure to Kaiser Cement’s asbestos containing products.
Many jurisdictions have announced that they plan to more actively pursue natural resource damages from potentially responsible parties deemed liable under CERCLA or Superfund.
As reported in our November 2012 Client Alert entitled Latest Regulatory Developments Concerning Unclaimed Life Insurance Benefits, a few states have passed new laws governing claims investigation practices to address the issue of unclaimed life insurance benefits.
A New York appellate court recently upheld a supreme court ruling that an insurer had a duty to defend a manufacturer’s faulty workmanship where it resulted in third party property damage. I.J. White Corp. v. Columbia Cas. Co., 2013 NY Slip Op 2500 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dep’t Apr. 16, 2013).
In Farkas v. National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA, No. 12-1481, 2013 WL 1459248 (4th Cir. Apr. 11, 2013), the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s summary judgment order and held that a Directors & Officers (D&O) liability insurer had no duty to defend the chairman of the policyholder after he was convicted of criminal fraud.
