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October 09, 2007 at 01:06 PM
An insurer has resolved an investigation in the Midwest by agreeing to offer refunds to thousands of older annuity buyers and to add a screening process for future buyers.
Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, Golden Valley, Minn., a unit of Allianz S.E., Munich, has accepted the restitution process to settle a lawsuit filed by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson in a state court in Minnesota in January 2007, the company says.
Judge Kevin Burke, a state court judge in Hennepin County, Minn., approved the settlement agreement Monday, according to officials in Swanson’s office.
Swanson filed the Minnesota suit in connection with allegations that Allianz Life had sold deferred annuities to Minnesota senior citizens without first determining whether the annuities were suitable investments for the seniors.
The annuities restricted the seniors’ access to their assets in the annuities for as long as 15 years, and, in some cases, the terms of the annuities may have been misrepresented, Swanson alleged.
“The settlement process with Attorney General Swanson was a difficult one, but it soon became clear that the common ground we share is a sincere desire to protect the needs of consumers in the state of Minnesota,” Allianz Life President Gary Bhojwani says in a statement about the agreement.
“With this settlement, Allianz is taking yet another step to continue to earn the trust and confidence that our consumers place in us every day,” Bhojwani says. “I want to express my gratitude for the unwavering support of our 2,200 employees and our distribution customers as we continue to enhance our consumer safeguards and suitability practices.”
