May 5, 2023
On May 8, New York Corporate & Financial Services partner Matthew Gaul and San Francisco Litigation partner Laura Geist will speak at the Association of Life Insurance Counsel’s (ALIC) 2023 Meeting. ALIC is the premier association for life insurance counsel as it aims to enhance the legal representation of the life insurance industry by fostering community and scholarship among its members.
At 10:00 am PT, Matthew will be speaking on the panel “Non-guaranteed Elements, Dividends and Additional Amounts – A Guide to Discretionary Decision-making Associated with Life Insurance Policies and Annuity Contracts.” This panel will discuss how most permanent life insurance policies and deferred annuity contracts include non-guaranteed elements that can be changed from time to time at the discretion of the issuing insurer. Discretionary elements include interest crediting rates, variable policy premiums and cost of insurance and other expense charges. This session will address the legal and actuarial standards that govern these discretionary decisions and how insurers can create a governance framework for their discretionary decision-making that will stand up to regulatory scrutiny.
At 11:00 am PT, Laura will be speaking on the panel “No ‘Lapse’ in California Lapse Litigation and other Class Action Litigation Developments.” This panel will provide updates on key recent developments and strategies in these cases, including class certification decisions, use of experts in opposing certification (e.g., how to “prove” not just “say” it shouldn’t be a class), plaintiffs’ evolving causation and damages theories, and a discussion of the individual issues that predominate in these cases and can be used to defeat claims on the merits. In addition, the panel will provide a general update on emerging issues and trends, including developments in class litigation against life insurers.
For more information and to register, click here.
