Many seniors are rightfully concerned about their financial futures and the legacies that they will end up leaving behind for their loved ones. It takes a lifetime of work to save up enough for retirement, and even with diligent savings, many seniors end up worried about how long their nest egg will last and about whether they will be able to leave behind an inheritance.
Seniors often turn to annuities to provide them with guaranteed income and promises of high returns on investments, while life insurance providers make promises to seniors that they can purchase policies with cash values that will also offer substantial death benefits to loved ones.
Some of the largest insurance companies and investment firms in the world have a myriad of products that they market aggressively to seniors, and a great number of people frequently trust these companies because they are household names. Unfortunately, even big insurance and financial services companies have been known to engage in abusive financial practices and dishonest business behavior.
Seniors and their families could find themselves experiencing unexpected financial loss caused by the purchase of the very products that were supposed to help and protect them. When this occurs, the victims of financial abuse should consult a San Francisco financial elder abuse lawyer right away to take legal action to recover their losses.
Major Sellers of Life Insurance and Annuities
Some of the largest companies with the most substantial market shares in the life insurance and/or annuities markets include:
- Principal Life Insurance Company
- John Hancock Life Insurance Company
- Prudential Life Insurance Company
- Metlife Investors USA Insurance Company
- Genworth Life Insurance Company
- ING USA Annuity and Life Insurance Company (which has been rebranded as Voya Financial)
- Lincoln Benefit Company
- Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
- Unum Life Insurance Company of America
- Reliastar Life Insurance Company
Many of these companies have been sued when the promises they made about their life insurance policies, annuities, and other financial products failed to live up to expectations. Lawsuits range from breach of contract and deceptive advertising claims to allegations of fraud and claims that benefits were withheld from policyholders for claims which should have been paid.
Unexpected and unjustified rate increases, violations of policy provisions, denied claims, bad faith processing of claims, unjustifiably high fees, and a failure to provide promised investment returns are among the problems that have led seniors and purchasers of financial products of all ages to take legal action. For seniors who are least able to afford financial loss, things like cancelled insurance policies, investments that underperform market indexes, and insurance policies that have lower surrender values than promised can be devastating.
Seniors and other investors who buy insurance, annuities, and other financial products do not need to just live with losses. A financial elder abuse attorney can provide assistance in pursuing claims through individual litigation, class actions, arbitrations and mediations or negotiated settlements. Contact an attorney for help as soon as you suspect fraud is occurring or losses have been incurred. Attorneys with Evans Law Firm, Inc. can be reached online at info@evanslaw.com or by phone at 415-441-8669 or toll free at 888-503-8267.
