Monthly Archives: December 2018

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER FINRA Troubled by Recommendations of Unsuitable Annuities Over-Concentration in Annuities The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) polices advisor recommendations of investment products including annuities. The agency recently reported a disturbing trend of advisor recommendations of variable annuities in particular as unsuitable products for certain consumers. The agency also […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Beware Fixed Index Annuities Phantom Bonuses and Other Downsides Insurance agents and financial advisors are increasingly using our low interest rate/volatile stock market environment to push a product called fixed indexed annuities. Agents claim the contracts offer the upside of market increases (the “indexed” part) with downside protection […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Keeping Retirement Savings for Yourself The closer you get to retiring the more you try and save for the future. While saving as much as you can is important, where you put those savings is equally important. Insurance agents, financial advisors, brokers, and retirement planners push annuities and […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Beware the Hard-Sell Free Lunch High Pressure Sales Seminars Have you ever come back to your car at a shopping mall and found a free lunch flier on your windshield? Or maybe a invitation by mail to a free dinner seminar?  Some insurance agents are notorious for relying […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company Whole Life Insurance Required Disclosures to Senior Policyholders If you are over age 60, live in Marin County or elsewhere in California, and have cancelled (or surrendered) a whole or universal life insurance policy issued by Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Private-Equity Firms, Conglomerates, and Nursing Homes When Quality Care Loses Out to the Bottom Line Conglomerates and private-equity firms own huge numbers of nursing homes in the United States and the impact on the residents in those homes is not good. The focus is on profits not care. […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER False Claims Act Cases for Overcharging Government Settles Large Whistleblower Suit Against Compounding Pharmacy Whistleblower Rewarded Healthcare fraud against Medicare, Medicaid, and other government health care programs amounts to billions of dollars every year. Overcharging for drugs and procedures is a major type of this fraud.  Whistleblowers bring […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Caregivers and Financial Elder Abuse Bankers Detect Fraud Senior Captive in Her Own Home Caregiver fraud on the elderly is a very real, and growing, danger. Financial elder abuse by a caregiver may include free use of credit and ATM cards, unauthorized purchases, access to bank accounts and […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Beware Equity Indexed Annuities Modest Yields, Fees, and Withdrawal Charges Annuity carriers and agents push what they claim are “safer” investment products in volatile markets. Anxious seniors, with money to invest and concerns about future income, worry about low rates on insured deposits on the one hand and […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER The Senior Safe Act: Encouraging Financial Institutions to Report Abuse Financial elder abuse is an epidemic: each year over five million senior citizens fall victim to financial elder abuse. The financial toll is estimated at $30 billion annually.  Alert bankers and financial advisors are the first line of […]