UPDATE:
- The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) declined to hear State Farm’s appeal to a lower court’s ruling upholding a $34 million jury trial award on Monday, April 27, 2021.
State Farm was hit with a $34.3 million trial verdict over class action allegations that the insurer took more from universal life insurance policyholders’ accounts than permitted.
The State Farm universal life insurance deduction class action lawsuit claimed that the company used prohibited factors to calculate the cost of the universal life insurance products, leading to overpayment by policyholders.
The lead plaintiff alleged that he had overpaid by $3,000 for his $100,000 life insurance policy.
The insurance giant fought back and succeeded in getting punitive damages trimmed, arguing that it had not acted with reckless disregard or evil motive in assessing the policyholders’ rates.
However, the company also argued that the State Farm universal life insurance deduction class action lawsuit should have been dismissed because it advertised maximum costs, but did not charge policyholders over the amount advertised.
“Because State Farm charged Plaintiff COI rates consistent with the terms of his policy, there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact, and State Farm is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on all of plaintiff’s claims,” stated the motion to dismiss the State Farm universal life insurance deduction class action lawsuit.
However, a federal court judge refused to toss the State Farm universal life insurance deduction class action lawsuit in its entirety.
After a four-day trial, State Farm was hit with the $34.4 million jury verdict. The jury found that the company engaged in breach of contract and conversion as alleged in the State Farm class action lawsuit.
The company had also asked the federal court to decertify the Class in the State Farm universal life insurance deduction class action lawsuit. Class Members who were not injured by State Farms’ fee assessing practices should be removed, argued the insurer, as opposed to simply not receiving an award.
Further, argued the company, some members of the Class in the State Farm insurance class action lawsuit would actually be assessed at a higher rate.
According to the State Farm universal life insurance deduction class action lawsuit, the lead plaintiff purchased his universal life policy from the company in 1999.
The plaintiff alleged that although State Farm used age, sex, and race to determine his policy rates, the company also used “unauthorized factors” that led to a higher rate.
According to the plaintiff, this action led to him and other Class Members paying higher rates over long periods of time, 14 years in the plaintiff’s case, leading to thousands in damages.
State Farm fought the $34 million jury verdict. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the jury’s decision and SCOTUS declined to hear the insurer’s arguments.
“After employing every appeal and delay tactic available to it, State Farm will finally be obligated to pay the jury verdict returned nearly three years ago,” a lawyer representing the plaintiffs told Law360 of the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear the case.
Top Class Actions will continue to monitor this lawsuit for further developments.
Are you a Class Member in the State Farm universal life insurance class action lawsuit? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below!
The lead plaintiff and Class Members are represented by Patrick J. Stueve, Norman E. Siegel, Ethan M. Lange, and Lindsay Todd Perkins of Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP and John J. Schirger, Matthew W. Lytle, and Joseph M. Feierabend of Miller Schirger LLC.
The State Farm Universal Life Insurance Deduction Class Action Lawsuit is Vogt, et al. v. State Farm Life Insurance Co., Case No. 20-1008, in the U.S. Supreme Court.
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249 thoughts onJury Awards $34.3M in State Farm Life Insurance Fees Class Action
We purchased a UL policy from State Farm in 1991 and were lold by the agent that after 7 years of payment we would have a paid-up policy. We are just receiving Information from Statefarm that our investment in the policy will not cover the fund and they need additional money to be paid to keep the policy active.
Please have someone contact me . I started with State Farm in 2009 , I was 59 years old at the time with a $25,000 Policy with a monthly premium of $80. At the time I was told that I would have coverage until 2042 with age of 94 years old. I did borrow money . In 2013 I repaid that loan. In 2018 I borrowed again by that time I was paying $100.00 a month.in 2019 I decided I wanted to increase my policy to $50,000. In 2020 I was notified that if I continued to make payments of $ 100.00 a month I would only have coverage for the next 10 years. In 2021 I started making payments of $125.00 . In August 2022 I paid the loans back. In 2019 I increased my $ 25,000 policy to $ 50,000. In 2020 I received notice that if I continued making $125.00 payments I would only have coverage until August 19, 2023. On May 25, 2022 I started making $150.00 payments. I am going to contact them to see what I can do about lowering my payments. I am on a fixed income and can’t afford this with the state of our economy these days.
Please add my name to see if I ‘ve been wronged.
I purchased a UL policy in 1990 and was led to believe it would provide $ in retirement, I recently checked about cashing it out and was told it would be only $3200.00 after 30yrs of paymnets which continue to go up. My agent told me recently told me it could be extended form age 73 to 84 but the payment would go from $75.00 to $124.00, so yes I would be most interested in ANY amount that I was overcharge and any refund that I might be due, send me any info that might lead to this.
My husband & I took out our UL policies with State Farm in 1992. Today I was told, I would need to DOUBLE my premium pmt each month to maintain the same level of coverage until I am 80 or if I do nothing, the account would lapse due to “underfunding” in 5 years when I turn 60. Please send information on class action lawsuit!
Please add Ralph Kostreva Jr and Stacy Kostreva to the lawsuit. We have had UL policy’s since 1992 and now are going to expire.
Please add my wife and I to this class action suit, we purchased two UL policies in 1991.
Please add me to the class action law suit Gerald Brown.
Please send me information regarding the state farm lawsuit for universal life. I have 3 policies from 1992
Please add me to the State Farm Universal Life. Got a letter stating the policy would lapse
if I did”nt up the monthly premium. They started dropping the coverage – went from $70.000.00 to 46,000.00 in 2 years. Agent took $10.000.00 cash out of policy and added to the policy. Then I received a 1099 for the money that was applied to the policy. I took this policy out March 1985 at the age of 29, 37 years ago, The agent called several of his clients in and helped them to change to a policy with set premium. I have went in and talked to my Agent and he seem like its not a big deal. Please add me.
I have had a UL policy about 30 years. They change numbers in me constantly in a bait and switch game. I raised my premium and was told I was paid till age 80, but when I got my yearly statement they said my policy could expire in 3 years. I am 69 years old. my surrender value is a complete joke of less than $1200, after more than 30 years. They want to squeeze me out and make up premiums as they go. I was told the mortality rate dropped because of the pandemic. Pure garbage since it mostly affected old people anyway. No one will tell me the truth or give me a straight answer. They seem to set premiums much like they are betting on a horse race. I was part of a class action over 20 years ago when State Farm lied about earned interest figures. I made the mistake of staying in and not opting out. I literally got 10 cents in settlement.