Settlements Reached in North Dakota with 4 Life Insurers

North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm announced settlement agreements with four life insurance companies related to their use of the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File (DMF).

As part of the settlements, Hartford Life will pay $2.1 million, Securian Life $625,000, Great American Life $400,000, and Stancorp Insurance Co. $277,000 to the states participating in the national investigation of life insurers. North Dakota will receive more than $80,000 total from these four settlements.

Life insurers have used the DMF for many years to search for and stop payments to annuity holders, but have not used the database to identify deceased life insurance policyholders to pay beneficiaries. Under the terms of the settlement, the life insurance companies will implement a number of business reforms to promptly identify when a policyholder has died and will use the DMF on a uniform and timely basis to search for deceased policyholders and make payments to their beneficiaries.

“Locating life insurance beneficiaries is a crucial part of this business and these companies have agreed to improve their practices in doing that,” Hamm said.

This agreement was the result of a coordinated multi-state examination among state insurance departments in North Dakota, California, Florida, Illinois, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.

The Department has been part of 26 multi-state settlements with insurance companies regarding life insurance practices and to date North Dakota has received more than $2.54 million.

Source: North Dakota Insurance Department

Topics Carriers