Class action litigation looms as new hurdle for EIA insurers; Elderly bilked by high commissions, long surrender periods.(News)

Investment News, February, 2007

Byline: Gary S. Mogel

NEW YORK - Add class action litigation to the regulatory controversies, bad press and other woes plaguing insurers that sell equity index annuities.

A magistrate for the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii in Honolulu this month recommended certification of a class action against Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Midland National Life Insurance Co. The class members - estimated at 600 to 700 - all were Hawaii residents 65 and older when they purchased Midland EIAs between May 2001 and May 2005.

There also is a potential national class action - currently in the deposition phase - against Midland in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles. It has been filed in the same court...

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