Do You Have an Aviva Structured Settlement?
John Darer • May 9, 2018
Important News About 2018 Class Action Settlement
What was the Aviva /CGU Capital Maintenance Agreement?
The Aviva Capital Maintenance Agreement ("Aviva CMA") was an agreement between the qualified assignment company and CGU International Insurance plc that was a form of Keep Well Agreement to reassure settlement stakeholders of a commitment to keep the assignee solvent. Aviva charged $500 for the CMA when the structures were placed. The Aviva CMA was instrumental in securing an estimated $1 billion in annuity premium be placed with Aviva USA life insurers and their predecessors.
John Griffiths, a resident of Hawaii who ended up being lead plaintiff, contacted me in August 2014 after reading my Structured Settlement Watchdog®blog. Together, we sought to get definitive written assurance of the continuance of the Aviva CMA. Based on the marketing materials that Aviva management approved and would have been filed with state insurance regulators and approved for distribution to its appointed agents and the public with issued policies, the plain language of " the obligation shall be absolute, unconditional, present and ongoing " seemed unambiguous. Yet multiple calls to the Athene customer service number by both Mr. Griffiths and I brought inconsistent answers. Something smelled fishy. After two months of foot dragging by Athene, and turfing off by Aviva, we finally received a letter from the legal department of Athene that the Aviva CMA "was terminated according to its terms".
The Aviva Capital Maintenance Agreement ("Aviva CMA") was an agreement between the qualified assignment company and CGU International Insurance plc that was a form of Keep Well Agreement to reassure settlement stakeholders of a commitment to keep the assignee solvent. Aviva charged $500 for the CMA when the structures were placed. The Aviva CMA was instrumental in securing an estimated $1 billion in annuity premium be placed with Aviva USA life insurers and their predecessors.
John Griffiths, a resident of Hawaii who ended up being lead plaintiff, contacted me in August 2014 after reading my Structured Settlement Watchdog®blog. Together, we sought to get definitive written assurance of the continuance of the Aviva CMA. Based on the marketing materials that Aviva management approved and would have been filed with state insurance regulators and approved for distribution to its appointed agents and the public with issued policies, the plain language of " the obligation shall be absolute, unconditional, present and ongoing " seemed unambiguous. Yet multiple calls to the Athene customer service number by both Mr. Griffiths and I brought inconsistent answers. Something smelled fishy. After two months of foot dragging by Athene, and turfing off by Aviva, we finally received a letter from the legal department of Athene that the Aviva CMA "was terminated according to its terms".
Except those terms were never disclosed to appointed agents, in Aviva approved and filed brochures and marketing materials and policy delivery packet, even concealed from front line Aviva employees that appointed agents interfaced with. Outrageous.
If you are receiving payments from what was originally an Aviva or CGU structured settlement annuity should you panic?
No , there was never any issue of solvency at anytime and this story has a happy ending.
If you are receiving payments from what was originally an Aviva or CGU structured settlement annuity should you panic?
No , there was never any issue of solvency at anytime and this story has a happy ending.
The Settlement Class
Includes all beneficiaries of structured settlement annuities assigned to
Athene London Assignment Corporation (formerly known as Aviva London
Assignment Corporation and as CGNU London Annuity Service Corp.), which
includes all annuities covered by the Capital Maintenance Agreement
between CGU International Insurance plc and CGNU London Annuity Service
Corp. dated February 1, 2002, where such annuities remained in force as
of October 2, 2013.
Excluded from the proposed class are the officers and directors of any Defendant and members of their immediate families and any entity in which any Defendant has a controlling interest, the legal representatives, heirs, successors or assigns of any such excluded party, the judicial officer(s) to whom this action is assigned, and the members of their immediate families.
Terms of Settlement
- Requires Athene Defendants to create a new Capital Maintenance Agreement which replicates, and then improves upon, the terms of the CMA whose purported cancellation is at issue in this case. This new CMA will be backed by Athene Holding Ltd., the ultimate, publicly traded, corporate parent of all other Athene Defendants. Plaintiffs' expert has opined that the entity that will issue the new CMA is better capitalized than CGU .
- It provides cash relief in amounts totaling at least $7.3 million.
- It requires Defendants to pay the costs of notice and settlement administration up to a total of $200,000 (up to $100,000 for each of the Athene and Aviva
Defendants), as well as up to an additional $12,500 from each Defendant group for a service award, if approved by the
Court, to be paid to the named Plaintiff, John Griffiths. - It provides for an additional payment by Aviva of 25% of any amount it obtains in resolution of any claim it files against the Athene Defendants for indemnification in connection with the acts at issue in the Amended Complaint.
Strategic Claims Notice
Following Court approval and certification of class for purpose of settlement (motion was filed 5/2/2018), notices will go out via the Class Action Administrator.
See
Strategic Claims Notice.
Annuitants were automatically opted in, but
could opt-out if they wanted by September 12, 2018, according to the notice (updated). It may also be a good time to review your beneficiary designation to see if it is current.
Athene contracted Concentrix to do its customer service work 888-285-4332.
If you want to work with your original settlement planner or with me, you will need to complete an authorization form
.
Read my
Blogs on Aviva Structured Settlements
, for more details and a historical perspective
Read about my Pro Bono work as the Structured Settlement Watchdog ®
ONE MORE THING!
Beware Circling Buzzards Trying to Get You to "Cash Out Your Annuity"
Read about my Pro Bono work as the Structured Settlement Watchdog ®
ONE MORE THING!
Beware Circling Buzzards Trying to Get You to "Cash Out Your Annuity"
When the wind blows in a certain direction, out come the unethical actors in the structured settlements secondary market, with a predilection to attempt to hoodwink structured settlement annuitants to sell their structured settlement payment rights for pennies on the dollar . You may receive a phone call or a mailer, or a hundred. Most of the people who contact you are unlicensed and may therefore be unqualified to provide financial advice over your important asset. Their sales practices are completely unregulated and unfortunately, many actors in the structured settlement secondary market seem to have no barometer of right and wrong.
The cap rate on index linked structured settlement annuities is a limit set by the insurance company on the maximum interest rate that can be credited to the annuity based on the performance of the underlying index that also helps provide the downside prtection..
Do your financial resources give you enough road, or will the road run out before you do? A structured settlement annuity helps mitigate the risk of outliving your savings, no matter how long you live. A structured settlement can inlcude one or more customized payment streams and types.
USAA Life Insurance Company, an A++ rated insurance company, issues structured settlement annuities with 1%, 2% and 3% COLAs. USAA Life structured settlements are exceptionally compatitive on lifetime benefit payments with long duration certain periods for ages under 35.
Owners of highly appreciated NY businesses or NY real estate may benefit from a structured installment sale tax deferral program as an alternative to a 1031 exchange. MetLife's structured installment sale program is now available in NY and in all 50 states. Call 888-325-8640 for more info
A qualified assignment is part of the process to establish a structured settlement that enables a Defendant, Insurer, or Qualified Settlement Fund, to achieve a complete novation of the future periodic payment claim established by suit or agreement, through a substitution of obligors.
An annuity and a structured settlement walked into a bar, how do you tell them apart? 4structures' John Darer reviews the differences for you right here.
A lifetime structured settlement annuity turns part of your settlement recovery into guaranteed income you can’t outlive that is contractually guaranteed by a regulated life insurance company. A lifetime annuity is sometimes referred to as longevity insurance.
Structured settlement annuities can be very helpful to the budgeting process by providing guaranteed income streams and deferred lump sum payments tailored to specific budget needs and time frames identified in the settlement planning process.
Structured settlement receivables are often deceptfully marketed to investors as annuities. When the originating structured settlement factoring company buys structured settlement payments in a structured settlement factoring transaction, they are buying a receivable not an annuity.
Avoid constructive receipt if a structured settllement or structured attorney fee is to be established. Care must be taken to avoid constructive receipt.
