IMPORTANT UPDATE: On June 27, 2023, the Court granted final approval of the Settlement. It was not required for Class Members to attend the Fairness Hearing. For more information, please review the Order Approving Class Action Settlement and Entering Final Judgment.

What is this lawsuit about?

Plaintiff LSIMC, LLC claims that American General breached the terms of certain universal life insurance policies issued by American General because its redetermination of credited interest rates was not based only on expectations of future investment earnings.

American General denies all material allegations and claims and specifically denies that any redetermination of credited interest rates failed to comply with policy provisions. It is entering into this Settlement to avoid the costs, risks, and delays associated with continued litigation. The Settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing.

How do I know if I am part of the Settlement Class?

You are a member of the Settlement Class if you are the current owner of an in force life insurance policy or the most recent owner of a policy that is no longer in force as of January 13, 2023, on which American General Life Insurance Company credited interest to the accumulation value, and the policy provides that any redetermination of interest rates will be based “only on expectations of future investment earnings” and that have a guaranteed minimum annual effective interest rate of 3.00%.

These policies have the following product names: Platinum Survivor Ultra G, Elite Survivor G, Elite Universal Life 2003, Elite Transition UL, Elite Universal Life G 2003, Elite Universal Life G, Elite UL, Platinum Provider Ultra 2003, and ContinUL.

What does the Settlement provide?

Settlement Class Members will receive the following benefits:

A Settlement Fund of $13 million will be established for the benefit of all Settlement Class Members.  The Settlement Fund will be reduced proportionally by the percentage of Policies, if any, owned by Settlement Class Members who opt-out from the Settlement Class.  The cost to administer the Final Settlement Fund (i.e., after reductions due to any opt-outs from the Settlement Class), Class Counsel’s attorney’s fees and costs, and an incentive award to the Class Representative, Plaintiff LSIMC, LLC, will be deducted from the Settlement Fund.  The Settlement Administrator will distribute the remaining amounts in the Final Settlement Fund to Settlement Class Members pursuant to the terms of a Plan of Allocation.  The Plan of Allocation distributes the Final Settlement Fund in amounts approximately proportional to the historical under-credits of interest alleged by Plaintiff.  A copy of the Plan of Allocation is available on the Important Documents page.

If your policy is currently in force, the Settlement also provides for an Interest Bonus Benefit and a Portfolio Rate Benefit that, for a certain number of years, will increase the credited interest rate applied to the policy accumulation value. The total estimated value of the Interest Rate Bonus Benefit and the Portfolio Rate Benefit is approximately $42.5 million as of November 2022, on a non-discounted basis. 

The Settlement also provides other Benefits for Settlement Class Members who have in force policies as described in FAQ 8.