Senior Annuities Fraud
Variable Annuity Fraud Attorneys Bank of America Annuity Sales Misconduct Lawyers
John Migliaccio was 73 when he paid $43,000 for a life insurance annuity from Midland National Life Insurance Company. But, the annuity payments don’t start until his 115th birthday.
In 2005, Shernoff Bidart & Darras LLP filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of senior citizens who allege that their insurance annuities are unsuitable because the investments don’t start making annuity payments until after the investors' likely life expectancy.
Selling these questionable investments to vulnerable senior citizens is believed to be a widespread practice that generates billions of dollars for insurance companies.
Bank of America and Washington Mutual are among the banks that have allegedly joined with unscrupulous insurance agents to peddle an inappropriate insurance product called a variable annuity to senior citizens.
Variable annuities pay investors a fixed, monthly income. Yet, scam artists fail to tell seniors that payments may not begin for 10 to 20 years. Many seniors will not live long enough to receive the promised income. If investors die before the monthly payments begin, the insurance company keeps the investment.
Once invested in a variable annuity, a senior's hard-earned life savings can't be touched for medical emergencies or living expenses without incurring huge penalties.
Unscrupulous bankers and insurance agents use deceptive sales practices, mislead seniors about the benefits of annuities, and fail to inform them of their significant disadvantages, including:
- Long maturation periods
- Lack of access to funds
- Huge penalties for early withdrawal
- Excessive annual costs
- High sales commissions
- Inappropriately risky sub-accounts
Once a senior is invested in a variable annuity, the sales agent may advise him or her to move assets to different sub-accounts. It's a technique called twisting, used solely to generate yet another high commission for the salesperson.
If you or an elderly loved one has been the victim of senior annuity fraud, feel free to contact an annuity sales misconduct attorney at Shernoff Bidart & Darras LLP today. The nation's leading insurance bad faith law firm, we have been fighting to protect individuals from abuse by the powerful insurance companies for more than 35 years. We represent clients on a contingency basis, so you pay nothing until we win financial compensation for you.
