Senior Life Settlements Lawsuit Helps Establish Industry Standards

A 2006 lawsuit filed by the NY Attorney General has been settled. No penalties or fines were paid by the plaintiff, Coventry First, a firm which has paid billions to consumers for unwanted life insurance policies. The settlement of the suit has helped establish useful standards for the senior life settlement industry. P & T Financial, an experienced and trusted provider of senior life settlements, strongly supports the establishment of industry standards and clear communication to all parties in a senior life settlement.

Coventry First announced today that it has settled a civil lawsuit filed in October 2006 by the New York Attorney General's office.  

In the course of the litigation, the Attorney General determined that Coventry First should have paid policyowners an additional $1,447,285 for the market value of their life insurance. Under the settlement agreement, Coventry First also agreed to pay $10,552,715 to the State of New York to end the litigation.

Coventry was not assessed any fine or penalty in connection with the settlement.

Coventry has paid more than $2.8 billion to consumers for insurance policies they no longer need. Over the past 12 months, Coventry has paid policyowners five times more than they would have received had they surrendered their policies back to the insurance company. The parties agreed on a set of business practices that establishes a model for the life settlement industry. The agreement provides for disclosure to New York policyowners of the compensation paid to intermediaries in life settlements. Coventry has long supported legislation in New York requiring full disclosure of compensation to intermediaries who facilitate life settlements. Coventry has agreed to cooperate with the NYAG to ensure that the industry continues to support the interests of consumers.

Coventry CEO Alan Buerger expressed appreciation for the Attorney General's "attention to these important issues in our developing industry." Mr. Buerger said he "hopes the Attorney General will continue to look into issues affecting policyowners, especially the anti-consumer actions of the life insurance companies that are calculated to deprive policyowners of the full market value of their policies." Mr. Buerger cited numerous examples where certain life insurers prohibit agents from informing consumers of their options in the secondary market or terminate representatives who participate in the market. "We will continue to fight for consumers' rights to access the market value of their life insurance policies," said Mr. Buerger. "We are proud to have created this market and to have paid consumers billions of dollars for their unneeded life insurance."

P & T Financial has expertise in senior life settlements in California, including San Diego, Irvine, Santa Ana, Long Beach, Riverside, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara,Bakersfield, Fresno, Modesto, Sacramento, Stockton, San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland and Redding, Anaheim, Chula Vista, Fremont, Irvine, Glendale, San Bernardino, Huntington Beach, Oxnard, Fontane, Moreno Valley, Oceanside, Rancho Cucamonga, Santa Clarita, Garden Grove, Ontario, Pomona, Santa Rosa, Salinas, Palmdale, Hayward, Pasadena, Torrance, Corona, Lancaster, Escondido, Orange, Elk Grove, Sunnyvale, Fullerton, Thousand Oaks, El Monte, Simi Valley, Concord, Visalia, Vallejo, Inglewood and Santa Clara geographic markets.