Brighthouse Lawsuit Investigation: Were You Overcharged for Life Insurance?

A proposed class action lawsuit has been filed claiming that owners of certain universal life insurance policies serviced by Brighthouse have been unfairly overcharged for years.

Specifically, it has been alleged that Brighthouse Life Insurance failed to take into account that mortality rates are getting better – a fact that would have decreased policyholders’ monthly charges.

If you have a universal life insurance policy that’s serviced by Brighthouse, it’s possible you may have been overcharged.

Learn more by filling out the form on this page. After you get in touch, one of the attorneys working with ClassAction.org may reach out to you directly for more information and to explain more about what you can do.

How Do I Know If Brighthouse Services My Life Insurance?

You can check your monthly statements to see if the paperwork indicates that Brighthouse is the servicer. It’s believed some of the affected policies were originally sold by Travelers and Metlife but are now owned and serviced by Brighthouse.

Which Policies Are Affected?

The lawsuit deals specifically with certain Brighthouse policies known as universal life insurance policies.

According to the case, these policies combine death benefits with a savings or investment component known as the policy’s “cash value.” Each month, the policyholder will have a “cost of insurance” charge – which is deducted from the cash value component – processed. The cost of insurance charge represents the company’s risk – that is, the chance they may have to pay out death benefits – and is based contractually on mortality rates.

If your policy or statements reference cost of insurance and cash value, or if you received a letter stating that your policy’s cash value is nearing zero and that, to keep the policy alive, you’ll either have to pay a higher premium or contribute a lump sum, you probably have universal life insurance.

How Could I Have Been Overcharged?

The insurance contracts at issue promise that the cost of insurance rates will be based only on future outlook for mortality and expenses.

Despite the fact that life expectancy has consistently increased over the past decades due to advances in medicine and other factors, Brighthouse has not lowered the cost of insurance charge that’s assessed to policyholders, forcing them to pay an inflated amount, according to the lawsuit.

How Could a Class Action Lawsuit Help Me?

A class action lawsuit could provide policyholders the chance to recover any money they may have been overcharged and force Brighthouse to lower its cost of insurance charges.

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