Conseco Annuities Class Action Administration Page

What is the lawsuit about?

There is a Settlement in a class action lawsuit. The case is called In Re: Conseco Insurance Co. Annuity Marketing & Sales Practices Litigation, No. 05-04726-RMW. The case is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Plaintiff brought this litigation on behalf of himself and other persons 65 years of age or older to assert claims against Conseco with respect to certain deferred Annuities issued by Conseco. Plaintiff alleges that Conseco targeted senior consumers and sold them costly and poorly performing deferred Annuities with steep surrender penalties, unfair interest adjustments, and excessive commissions and other costs. In addition, Plaintiff contends that Conseco used standardized written sales and product materials that misrepresented and failed to disclose critical facts concerning its deferred Annuities, including the allegedly excessive commissions paid to Conseco's sales agents and other costs associated with design, marketing, and administration of the contracts, and their effect on performance of the Annuities. Plaintiff claims that the conduct described above violates the federal civil RICO statute, §18 U.S.C. 1962, and certain California consumer protection laws, including §§ 17200 and 17500 of the California Business and Profession Code, and California's Financial Elder Abuse Act (Welf. & Inst. Code § 15610.30). Plaintiff seeks monetary relief arising out of Defendants' allegedly improper conduct in connection with the marketing and sale of its Annuities to senior citizens in the form of restitution, compensatory, punitive and other exemplary damages, as well as interest, legal fees and costs. The litigation also seeks injunctive relief that would require Defendants to change certain of their business practices.

Conseco denies any and all liability to Plaintiff or the Settlement Class identified below and contends that Plaintiff and the Settlement Class are not entitled to any form of monetary damages, restitution or injunctive relief. Conseco contends that no member of the proposed Settlement Class has suffered any damage or loss. Conseco further contends that the written materials used to market and sell its Annuities are not misleading, and that it has completely fulfilled its various obligations to Owners of the Annuities as promised in the applicable Annuities.

How do I know if I am included in the settlement?

To be a member of the Settlement Class, you must either own, or have been the last person to own, or a beneficiary of a deferred annuity listed in Appendix A of the Class Notice (referred to as "Annuities") that was issued by Conseco Insurance Co. ("Conseco"), during the time period between November 27, 2001 and March 1, 2010, to a person age 65 or older at the time of purchase or a trust with an Annuitant age 65 or older at the time of purchase.

What does the Settlement provide?

If the Settlement is approved by the Court and you are a member of the Class and do not exclude yourself from the Settlement, you may receive one of the Settlement benefits Conseco would provide, all of which are described further in the Notice of Class Action Settlement:

1. If you have an active annuity, you will be eligible for a bonus that is estimated to be 0.532% of the Accumulation Value of the annuity.
2. If you have already annuitized your annuity, the amount scheduled to be paid under your annuity will be increased by 2.5%.
3. If you have already surrendered your Annuity and paid surrender charges, you will be eligible for a 0.4% increase to the withdrawal amount.
4. Any annuity owned by a class member who passed away will be eligible for a 0.5% increase to the death benefit amount paid under the annuity. However, in order to receive this benefit, eligible beneficiaries must complete, sign and submit to CNO Services, LLC a Claim Form.

The Settlement does not require you to Annuitize your Annuity.

Please note that the Court has not expressed any opinion regarding the taxability of any benefits received under the terms of the Settlement. Any benefits made available to the Class may be treated and reported as taxable transactions. You should address any questions regarding taxes to your tax advisor.