You have a right to know about a proposed Settlement and your rights and options before the Court decides whether to approve the Settlement. Honorable Edward M. Chen of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (the “Court”) is in charge of this case. The case is called Yearby v. American National Insurance Company, Case No. 3:20-cv-09222-EMC (N.D. Ca.). The individual who sued is Plaintiff Joe S. Yearby. The company he sued, ANICO, is called the Defendant.

The class action lawsuit alleges that that American National Insurance Company (“ANICO”) violated its contractual commitment to policyholders by refusing to decrease its cost of insurance ("COI") rates despite alleged, improved future mortality expectations. Plaintiff asserts that he and members of the Class have been damaged as a result. ANICO denies Plaintiff’s claims; however, both sides have agreed to the Settlement to avoid the risks, costs, and delays of further litigation, including an appeal, so that people affected will get a chance to receive compensation.

The Settlement affects all owners of universal life (including variable universal life) insurance policies issued in California by ANICO, or its predecessors in interest, that provide that COI rates are determined based on expectations as to future mortality experience, and that were subjected to monthly COI deductions on or after January 1, 2010. Excluded from the Settlement Class are Class Counsel and their employees; Defendant ANICO, its officers and directors, members of their immediate families, and the heirs, successors or assigns of any of the foregoing; the Court, the Court’s staff, and their immediate families.

The ANICO life insurance products issued in California that are covered by this Settlement are UL 1983, UL I, and Pension UL I (issued on Forms FPL83 and PUL84); UL 1986, Anico Employee UL, UL II, Flex Universal Life, Pension UL II, Pension UL III, and UL III, (issued on Forms AUL86, FUL86, JUL86, PFUL86, PRUL86, and RUL86); and UL 1992, UL 100, UL 25 Salary Deduction UL, Universal Asset Life, and UL 50 (issued on Forms CUL93, HUL93, SDL93, UAL III, and UAL93).

In a class action, a person(s) or entity(ies) called a “Class Representative(s)” sues on behalf of all individuals who have a similar claim. Here, Plaintiff Joe S. Yearby represents other eligible ANICO policy owners and together they are called the “Class” or “Class Members.” Bringing a case, such as this one, as a class action allows resolution of many similar claims of persons and entities that might be economically too small to bring in individual actions. One court resolves the issues for all class members, except for those who validly exclude themselves from the class.

In the Court’s Order Preliminarily Approving Class Action Settlement, the Court decided that the settlement of the breach of contract claim against ANICO in this lawsuit can proceed as a class action because, at that point of the lawsuit, it met the requirements of Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which governs class actions in federal court. The Court found that:

• There are numerous Class Members whose interests will be affected by this lawsuit;
• There are legal questions and facts that are common to each of them;
• The Class Representative’s claims are typical of the claims of the rest of the Class;
• The Class Representative and the lawyers representing the Class will fairly and adequately represent the interests of the Class;
• A class action would be a fair, efficient and superior way to resolve this lawsuit;
• The common legal questions and facts predominate over questions that affect only individual Class Members; and

In certifying the Settlement Class, the Court appointed Susman Godfrey L.L.P. as Class Counsel. For more information, visit the Important Documents page.

ANICO denies any and all liability or wrongdoing of any sort with regard to its COI rates. Instead, the parties have agreed to the Settlement. The parties want to avoid the risks, costs, and delays of further litigation. The Court has not decided in favor of the Plaintiff or the Defendant. Plaintiff and Class Counsel think the Settlement is in the best interests of the Settlement Class and is fair, reasonable, and adequate.

You are a member of the Settlement Class if you own or owned a universal life (including variable universal life) insurance policy issued in California by ANICO, or its predecessors in interest, that provides that COI rates are determined based on expectations as to future mortality experience, and that was subjected to monthly COI deductions on or after January 1, 2010. See FAQ 3 and FAQ 8 for more information.

Yes. Excluded from the Settlement Class are Class Counsel and their employees; Defendant ANICO, its officers and directors, members of their immediate families, and the heirs, successors or assigns of any of the foregoing; the Court, the Court’s staff, and their immediate families.

In addition, policy owners have an opportunity to request exclusion from the Settlement, as described in FAQ 14. Policy owners that timely and validly request exclusion will not be part of the Settlement Class and will not be entitled to any of its benefits.

If an owner (such as a securities intermediary or trustee) owns multiple policies on behalf of different principals, that owner may stay in or opt-out of the Settlement Class separately for each policy.

If you are still not sure whether you are a Settlement Class Member, you can call the Settlement Administrator toll-free at 1-877-381-0370, or write to: American National Insurance COI Litigation, c/o JND Legal Administration, P.O. Box 91237, Seattle, WA 98111.

A Settlement Fund of $5 million will be established for Settlement Class Members. The Settlement Fund will be reduced proportionally if there are any opt outs from the Settlement Class. After payment of the cost to administer the Settlement Fund (estimated to be $62,520) as well as attorneys’ fees (not to exceed $1,666,666.67 or 33 1/3% of the cash component of the Settlement) and litigation expenses (estimated to be $182,418.34), and the payment to the Plaintiff (up to $25,000) (see FAQ 18), the Settlement Administrator will distribute the remaining amounts to Settlement Class Members in proportion to their share of the overall COI overcharges collected from the Settlement Class through February 28, 2023, with each Class Member receiving a minimum distribution of $100. No portion of the Settlement Fund will be returned to ANICO.

ANICO has also agreed to provide the following relief, quantified as having present value of $362,289, not to:

• Increase current COI rate scales for the Class Members’ policies for a period of five years after the Court finally approves the Settlement.
• Take any legal action (including asserting as an affirmative defense or counter-claim), or cause to take any legal action, that seeks to void, rescind, cancel, have declared void, or seeks to deny coverage under or deny a death claim for any Class Policy based on:  (1) an alleged lack of valid insurable interest under any applicable law or equitable principles; or (2) any misrepresentation allegedly made on the application for, or otherwise made in applying for the policy.

More details regarding application of these terms are in a document called the Settlement Agreement, which is available on the Important Documents page.

If you are a Settlement Class Member, unless you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you cannot sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against ANICO about the facts that arise from the same factual predicate of the claims released in this Settlement. It also means that all the decisions by the Court will bind you. The Released Claims and Released Parties are defined in the Settlement Agreement. They describe the legal claims that you give up if you stay in the Settlement. The Settlement Agreement is available on the Important Documents page.

You will automatically receive a payment in the mail if you are entitled to one. No claims need to be filed.

Payments will be mailed to Settlement Class Members after the Court grants “final approval” of the Settlement and after all appeals are resolved. If the Court approves the Settlement, there may be appeals. It is always uncertain whether these appeals can be resolved and resolving them can take time. Please be patient.

The deadline to exclude yourself from the Settlement was October 10, 2023 and has passed.

No. Unless you excluded yourself, you give up any right to sue ANICO for the claims that this Settlement resolves. If you have a pending lawsuit, speak to your lawyer in that lawsuit immediately. You needed to exclude yourself from this Settlement to continue your own lawsuit. If you properly excluded yourself from the Settlement, you will not be bound by any orders or judgments entered in the Action relating to the Settlement.

No. You will not get any money from the Settlement if you excluded yourself.

Yes. The Court has appointed the following lawyers as “Class Counsel.”

The Court will determine how much Class Counsel will be paid for fees and expenses. Class Counsel will file a motion seeking an award for attorneys’ fees not to exceed 33 1/3% of the cash component of the Settlement (that is, will not exceed 33 1/3% of $5,000,000, which is $1,666,666.67).  In addition to seeking an award for attorneys’ fees, Class Counsel will seek reimbursement for expenses incurred or to be incurred in connection with the Settlement (estimated to be $182,418.34), as well as a Service Award up to $25,000 for Plaintiff for his service as the representative on behalf of the Settlement Class, to be paid from the Final Settlement Fund. You will not be responsible for direct payment of any of these fees, expenses, or awards.

If you stay in the Settlement Class, you do not need to hire your own lawyer to pursue the claims against ANICO because Class Counsel is working on behalf of the Settlement Class. However, if you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense and cost.

The deadline to object to the Settlement was October 10, 2023 and has passed.

Objecting is simply telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement. You can object to the Settlement only if you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement; thereby remaining a Settlement Class Member. The purpose of an objection to the Settlement is to persuade the Court not to approve the proposed Settlement. A successful objection to the Settlement may mean that the objector and other members of the Class are not bound by the Settlement. Excluding yourself from the Settlement is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement. If you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you have no basis to object to the Settlement because it no longer affects you.

The Court held a Fairness Hearing on November 2, 2023 at 1:30 p.m. PT at the Phillip Burton Federal Building & United States Courthouse, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102. At the Fairness Hearing, the Court considered whether the Settlement was fair, reasonable, and adequate. The Court considered how much to pay and reimburse Class Counsel and any Service Award payment to Plaintiff. If there were objections, the Court considered them at the time. After the hearing, the Court decided to approve the Settlement.

No, Class Counsel answered any questions that the Court may have had.  If you wished to attend the hearing, or wished to present your objections to the Settlement, you could have come at your own expense. You could have also paid your own lawyer to attend, but it was not necessary, unless you chose to have a lawyer appear on your behalf to object to the settlement.

If you submitted a proper written objection to the settlement, you or your lawyer acting on your behalf could have spoken at the Final Approval Hearing.  You could not speak at the Hearing if you excluded yourself from the settlement.

Those who are eligible to receive a payment from the Settlement do not need to do anything to receive payment; you will automatically receive a payment from the Settlement. Unless you exclude yourself, you won’t be able to start a lawsuit, continue with a lawsuit, or be part of any other lawsuit against ANICO about the legal issues that arise from the same factual predicate of this case, ever again.

The Notice summarizes the proposed Settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement, available on the Important Documents page. You can also call the Settlement Administrator toll-free at 1-877-381-0370, or write to:

American National Insurance COI Litigation
c/o JND Legal Administration
P.O. Box 91237
Seattle, WA 98111

Complete copies of the pleadings, orders and other publicly filed documents in the lawsuit may also be accessed for a fee through the Court’s Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov.

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT