Great American Life Insurance Annuity Class Action Settlement

Great American Life Insurance Co. has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit alleging it used misleading disclosures to conceal penalties associated with surrendering policies.

If you owned an annuity issued by Great American in California, you may be entitled to benefits from the class action settlement.

Plaintiff Joyce Goertzen filed the Great American Life Insurance class action lawsuit in December 2015 on behalf of herself and a proposed Class of people who were 60 or older when they purchased certain deferred annuities.

According to the Great American annuity class action lawsuit, she was charged a $136.88 surrender penalty and could not access her money without paying additional penalties.

Goertzen claims that Great American failed to comply with California’s surrender charge disclosure requirements and engaged in financial abuse of an elder under California law. She also asserted claims for violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law.

Great American denies all of the allegations but agreed to settle the annuity fraud class action lawsuit to avoid the burden and expense of ongoing litigation.

The Great American class action settlement was preliminarily approved on Nov. 6, 2017.

Who’s Eligible

Class Members of the Great American annuity settlement include the current or most recent owner of a certain annuity product issued in California by Great American to a person who was 60 years old or older.

The annuities covered by the Great American class action settlement are fixed deferred annuities marketed under the following names: Assurance Protect 6, Assurance Select 7, Safe Outlook, or Safe Return.

For annuities that were purchased by non-natural persons or a trustee for a trust, the age of the annuitant at the time of issue will be used to determine whether the policy is covered by this Great American settlement.

Potential Award

There are two types of benefits that Class Members may be entitled to receive:

1. If your annuity was issued to a purchaser 60 years old or older and surrender charges were incurred upon a partial or full surrender of your annuity before Sept. 1, 2017, you are entitled to a partial refund of $5 (if the incurred surrender charges were $5 or less) or 35% of the total surrender charges incurred on each annuity. No Claim Form is required to receive this benefit. Checks will automatically be mailed to eligible Class Members.
2. If you have an annuity that is active and you have not incurred any surrender charges on or before Sept. 1, 2017, you may be eligible to file a claim for the Enhanced Withdrawal Benefit, a one-time withdrawal from the annuity without the deduction of surrender charges. To make a claim for the Enhanced Withdrawal Benefit, you must file a Claim Form by Feb. 28, 2018.

Proof of Purchase

To make a claim for the Enhanced Withdrawal Benefit, you must provide the owner’s name and address and the annuity policy number. Claimants must declare under the penalty of perjury that the information they submit in the Claim Form is true and correct.

Claim Form

CLICK HERE TO FILE A CLAIM »

NOTE: If you do not qualify for this settlement do NOT file a claim.

Remember: you are submitting your claim under penalty of perjury. You are also harming other eligible Class Members by submitting a fraudulent claim. If you’re unsure if you qualify, please read the FAQ section of the Settlement Administrator’s website to ensure you meet all standards (Top Class Actions is not a Settlement Administrator). If you don’t qualify for this settlement, check out our database of other open class action settlements you may be eligible for.

Claim Form Deadline

2/28/2018

Case Name

Goertzen v. Great American Life Insurance Co., Case No. 4:16-cv-00240 (YGR), in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

Final Hearing

3/27/2018

UPDATE: The Great American Life Insurance Annuity Class Action Settlement was granted final approval on March 28, 2018. Let Top Class Actions know when you receive a check in the comments section below or on our  Facebook page.

Settlement Website

www.GreatAmericanLifeSettlement.com

Claims Administrator

Great American Life Settlement
c/o KCC Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 404041
Louisville, KY 40233-4041
(866) 645-6916
info@GreatAmericanLifeSettlement.com

Class Counsel

EVANS LAW FIRM INC.

Defense Counsel

ALSTON & BIRD LLP