$45 Million Settlement for KC Life Insurance Policyholders
In a win for policyholders, Kansas City Life Insurance Co. has agreed to a $45 million settlement over allegations it inflated the charges related to a number of its life insurance products. This settlement, along with prior paid judgments, brings the total recovery against KC Life to just under $95 million.
The settlement aims to resolve claims related to the cost of insurance rates applied to certain universal life and variable universal life policies: Better Life Plan, Better Life Plan Qualified, LifeTrack, AGP, MGP, PGP, Chapter One, Classic, Century II, Rightrack (89), Performer (88), Performer (91), Prime Performer, Competitor (88), Competitor (91), Executive (88), Executive (91), Protector 50, LewerMax, Ultra 20 (93), Competitor II, Executive II, Performer II, and Ultra 20 (96).
If approved, the settlement will conclude five class actions that are pending in courts across the country. Settlement proceedings will be held in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri and the 16th Circuit Court of Jackson County (Missouri).
This settlement is the latest result that Stueve Siegel Hanson and co-counsel Schirger Feierabend LLC have achieved for KC Life policyholders who were overcharged for their life insurance.
Before this settlement, the firms tried three statewide class actions securing three jury verdicts in litigation against the company:
- In Karr v. Kansas City Life Insurance Co., the jury returned a verdict of $28.36 million; the Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the jury verdict and awarded prejudgment interest, bringing the total judgment to more than $48 million.
- In Meek v. Kansas City Life Insurance Co., the jury returned a verdict for nearly $1 million. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the jury verdict in its entirety.
- In Sheldon v. Kansas City Life Insurance Co., the jury returned a verdict for the full amount requested, more than $4 million, with the court thereafter awarding more than $2 million in additional prejudgment interest.
More information on Stueve Siegel Hanson’s work addressing Unfair Insurance Practices is available here.
