The settlement was approved by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana on January 13, 2021 and provides that Conseco Life will pay $27 million (less fees and expenses) in cash compensation to approximately 3,666 policyholders who owned LifeTrend 3 and LifeTrend 4 policies.
The case is Burnett, et al. v. Conseco Life Insurance Co., et al., and was filed in 2012. The suit alleges that Conseco Life and its parent companies—CNO Financial Group, Inc. and CNO Services, LLC—overcharged policyholders through improper premiums and cost of insurance charges. In response to the overcharges, thousands of policyholders gave up their policies or let them lapse, a result the Defendants intended. Policyholders lost tens of millions of dollars in valuable life insurance policies as a result.
The CNO Defendants are not included in the settlement. Litigation is continuing concerning their alleged liability.
“The victims here were mostly elderly retirees and are some of the most sympathetic plaintiffs you could imagine,” said co-lead counsel Stephen Weisbrod. “We’re thrilled to be able to help them.”
“This is a great start,” said co-lead counsel Kathleen DeLaney. “But most of the millions of dollars in profits from the overcharges went to the parent company and its affiliate, and we’re going to continue to pursue a further recovery from them for the benefit of former policyholders.”
About Weisbrod Matteis & Copley PLLC
Weisbrod Matteis & Copley PLLC represents a wide array of plaintiffs in insurance recovery and other matters. The firm’s clients include large private equity firms, Fortune 500 companies, the Attorney General of Mississippi, and more than 1,000 businesses and homeowners whose properties suffered flood damage from hurricanes and other disasters. WMC has offices in Washington, Ft. Lauderdale, Jackson, and San Juan. For more information, please visit us online at www.wmclaw.com.
About DeLaney & DeLaney LLC.
DeLaney & DeLaney LLC is an Indianapolis boutique litigation firm handling a variety of civil litigation matters including class actions, in Indiana’s federal and state trial and appellate courts. The firm is proud to have been recognized as an AV rated law firm by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell, and has been honored many times by Best Lawyers and SuperLawyers.