$9.25M Brighthouse Life Insurance breach of contract class action settlement

Brighthouse Life Insurance Co. agreed to a $9.25 million class action settlement to resolve claims it failed to reduce the cost of insurance (COI) rates despite improved mortality expectations and reduced expenses.

The Brighthouse Insurance settlement benefits current and former owners of universal life insurance policies with product codes ULX or ULXP and the following policy numbers: TUL91, TUL, ULX, TUL85, ULXP, TULP, ULXP86, UL, ULXP88, UL2, VUL, UL2JH, SPVUL, ULFP85, ULQPL, ULFP88, ULQP85, ULFPP, ULQP88, ULP, GCOUL1 and ULS.

Brighthouse Life Insurance is a life insurance and annuity company that offers a variety of policies. Brighthouse is a subsidiary of Brighthouse Financial, which was spun off from MetLife in 2017.

Consumers filed a class action lawsuit against Brighthouse in 2021, arguing the company failed to decrease the cost of insurance rates for its universal life insurance policies.

According to the class action lawsuit, Brighthouse should have reduced the COI rates for its universal life insurance policies due to improved mortality expectations and reduced expenses. Instead, the company allegedly kept the rates high, allowing it to collect more money from policyholders. As a result, policyholders allegedly paid more than they should have to keep their life insurance policies in force.

Brighthouse has not admitted any wrongdoing but agreed to a $9.25 million class action settlement to resolve the allegations.

Under the terms of the Brighthouse Insurance settlement, class members can receive a cash payment based on the face value of their policies.

Class members with policies valued at $250,000 or less can receive a proportional share of the net settlement fund. Class members with policies valued at more than $250,000 can receive a larger proportional share of the net settlement fund.

Exact payment amounts will vary depending on the number of participating class members and the amount of the settlement fund after deductions for costs and fees.

The deadline for exclusion is Dec. 11, 2026, and the deadline for objection is Dec. 23, 2026.

The final approval hearing for the Brighthouse Insurance settlement is scheduled for Jan. 26, 2027.

No claim form is required to benefit from the Brighthouse class action settlement. Class members who do not exclude themselves will automatically receive a settlement payment.

Who’s Eligible

The class action settlement benefits owners of universal life insurance policies with product codes ULX or ULXP that were in force as of April 6, 2021, and that contain the language, “We will base these [cost of insurance] rates only on our future outlook for mortality and expenses.”

Potential Award

Varies

Proof of Purchase

N/A

Claim Form Deadline

12/11/2026

Case Name

Martin v. Brighthouse Life Insurance Co., Case No. 1:21-cv-02923, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Final Hearing

01/26/2027

Settlement Website

BrighthouseInsuranceCase.com

Claims Administrator

Martin v. Brighthouse
Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 2477
Portland, OR 97208-2477
877-318-7068

Class Counsel

Mitchell Breit
MILBERG PLLC

Defense Counsel

Stacey J. Rappaport
Jonathan D. Lamberti
MILBANK LLP