Allianz Life takes steps to clarify its sale of universal life policies.MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 26, 1995--Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. is in the process of taking a series of steps to resolve a complaint by the California Department of Insurance The California Department of Insurance (CDI), established in 1868, is the angency charged with overseeing the regulation of insurance regulations, enforcing statutes mandating consumer protections, educating consumers, and fostering the stability of insurance markets in the state centering on the Company's sale of universal life policies. "Besides continuing to cooperate fully with the California Department of Insurance, Allianz Life will also contact all affected policyholders to clarify the nature of the product they bought," said Alan Grove, corporate legal officer of Allianz Life of North America. "We want to dispel all doubts regarding the policy and be assured that policyholders are completely satisfied with what they bought." The matter concerns solicitations of a now discontinued dis·con·tin·ue v. dis·con·tin·ued, dis·con·tin·u·ing, dis·con·tin·ues v.tr. 1. To stop doing or providing (something); end or abandon: universal life insurance policy made by one Allianz agent in conjunction with Internal Revenue Code The Internal Revenue Code is the body of law that codifies all federal tax laws, including income, estate, gift, excise, alcohol, tobacco, and employment taxes. These laws constitute title 26 of the U.S. Code (26 U.S.C.A. § 1 et seq. Section 125 Cafeteria Plans Cafeteria Plan An employee benefit plan that allows staff to choose from a variety of benefits to formulate a plan that best suits their needs. Also known as "cafeteria employee benefit plan" or "flexible benefit plan". developed for small businesses. That agent no longer represents Allianz. The questioned policies were sold primarily in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, from 1990 until 1994. "After receiving a complaint from a policyholder Policyholder An individual who owns an insurance policy. earlier this year, we began an internal investigation and sent out approximately 5,000 letters to ascertain if our policyholders in this program understood what they purchased," said Grove. "As a result, we received 12 complaints. Even that low dissatisfaction rate was too high for us, so we began contacting the remaining 15,000 policyholders." Grove said that "We also want to dispel any confusion about the fundamental difference between our policy and other recent controversial cases. Unlike those other cases, our policies are universal life insurance polices, designed specifically to provide retirement benefits. Also, our policies emphasize an annuitization option which the insured can use to provide a retirement income after age 65." The Company is now working with the California Department of Insurance to understand how sales materials might have been used or misused as well as whether those materials were influential factors in the sales. "Allianz of North America has a proud tradition of providing solid, dependable life products and we are eager to present our case to whatever forum is selected by the California Department of Insurance," said Grove. A subsidiary of Allianz AG of Munich, Allianz of North America is one of the top 50 life insurers in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . For further information, contact Alan Grove at 612/347-6581. CONTACT: Allianz Life Insurance Company Alan Grove, 612/347-6581 |
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