This page provides the answers to class members’ most frequently asked questions.
The information provided is in summary form and is not intended as a complete explanation of your rights. For full and complete information, you are directed to review carefully the Court-Authorized Notice.
This lawsuit is about whether Symetra’s Cost of Insurance deductions were consistent with the policy language in the MasterPlan series life insurance policies issued by American States Life Insurance Company in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas, or Washington (“Policies”). The Policies have a Cash Value that earns interest. The Policies expressly authorize Symetra to take a Cost of Insurance charge from the Cash Value each month.
Plaintiff alleges that Symetra took improper Cost of Insurance charges from the Cash Value. The Policies state that the Monthly Cost of Insurance Rates will be determined by Symetra from time to time based on its expectations as to future mortality experience. Plaintiff alleges Symetra breached the Policies in two ways. First, Plaintiff alleges that Symetra impermissibly used unauthorized and undisclosed non-mortality factors to initially set the Monthly Cost of Insurance Rates. Second, Plaintiff alleges Symetra failed to reduce its Monthly Cost of Insurance Rates when Symetra’s expectations as to future mortality experience improved.
Symetra denies all of Plaintiff’s claims, and asserts that, at all times, it complied with the plain language of the Policies.
The Parties negotiated the Settlement with an understanding of the factual and legal issues that would affect the outcome of this lawsuit. During the lawsuit, Plaintiff, through his attorneys, thoroughly examined and investigated the facts and the law relating to the issues in this case.
As with all litigation, the final outcome of the lawsuit is uncertain. A settlement avoids the costs and risks of further litigation, if the lawsuit were to proceed through trial and appeals, and provides immediate relief to the Settlement Class Members. Based on their evaluation of the facts and law, Plaintiff and his attorneys have determined that the proposed Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. They have reached this conclusion based on the substantial benefits the Settlement provides to Settlement Class Members and the risks, uncertainties, and costs inherent in the lawsuit.
There was no trial, and there were no final appellate determinations on the merits of the claims or defenses. Because the case has settled, there will be no trial or final determination on the merits of the remaining claims and defenses if the Court approves the Settlement. The Settlement does not indicate that Symetra has done anything wrong, or that Plaintiff and the Settlement Class Members would win or lose if this lawsuit were to go to trial.
The Settlement Class includes all persons or entities who are Owners (as defined in the Settlement Agreement) of the approximately 43,000 MasterPlan series Policies issued by American States Life Insurance Company in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas, and/or Washington that were in force on or after January 1, 2000 (“Policies”). A Policy includes all applications, schedules, riders, and other forms that were specifically made a part of the Policy at the time of issue, plus all riders and amendments issued later. Policies include everything that was part of “The Policy,” as that term is defined in your Policy or Policies.
You are not part of the Settlement Class if you are Symetra; any entity in which Symetra has a controlling interest; any of the officers, directors, employees, or sales agents of Symetra; the legal representatives, heirs, successors, and assigns of Symetra; anyone employed with Plaintiff’s counsel’s law firms; or any Judge to whom this case is assigned or his or her immediate family.
If someone who would otherwise be a Settlement Class Member is deceased, his or her estate is a Settlement Class Member.
Symetra has agreed to fund a Settlement Fund in the amount of $32.5 million, which will be used to pay (1) all payments to Settlement Class Members; (2) Class Counsel’s attorneys’ fees and expenses in an amount to be approved by the Court; (3) any service award to Plaintiff Dennis E. Davis in an amount to be approved by the Court; and (4) the expenses incurred in administering the Settlement. The Net Settlement Fund equals $32.5 million less the amounts described in (2) through (4) as approved by the Court.
If the Court approves the Settlement, settlement checks will be mailed to Settlement Class Members in amounts that will vary according to a Distribution Plan. The Distribution Plan is designed to provide each Settlement Class Member an approximate pro rata portion of the Net Settlement Fund in proportion to the amount of Cost of Insurance charges actually paid by each Settlement Class Member. There will also be a minimum cash payment and more paid where a Settlement Class Member’s Policy is still in force.
The full Distribution Plan is attached to Plaintiff’s Motion Pursuant to Rule 23(e) for Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement and to Permit Issuance of Notice to Settlement Class and is available on the Settlement Website in Important Case Documents.
You should consult your own tax advisors about the tax consequences of the proposed Settlement, including any benefits you may receive and any tax reporting obligations you may have as a result.
Settlement Class Members do not have to do anything to participate in the Settlement. No claims need to be filed. Upon approval of the Settlement, a settlement check will be sent to every Settlement Class Member in the amount determined by a Distribution Plan designed to provide each Settlement Class Member an approximate pro rata portion of the Net Settlement Fund in proportion to the amount of Cost of Insurance charges actually paid by each Settlement Class Member. There will also be a minimum cash payment and more paid where a Settlement Class Member’s Policy is still in force.
If someone who would otherwise be a Settlement Class Member is deceased, his or her estate is a Settlement Class Member. If your address changes, you should contact the Settlement Administrator to give them your new address.
The settlement checks will be sent to Settlement Class Members within 30 days after the Final Settlement Date, which is the date that the approval process is formally completed. Settlement checks will be automatically mailed without any proof of claim or further action on the part of the Settlement Class Members. It could take several months to complete the Settlement process and depending on factors that cannot be predicted at this time.
Yes. If you don’t want a payment from the Settlement, and/or you want to keep the right to hire your own lawyer and sue Symetra at your own expense about the issues in this case, then you may request to be excluded from the Settlement Class by sending a written notice to the Settlement Administrator. The notice must include the following information:
If you want to exclude yourself from the Settlement, your written notice must be mailed to the Settlement Administrator at ASL COI Settlement, P.O. Box 2009, Chanhassen, MN 55317-2009, postmarked no later than April 25, 2025.
You can object to the Settlement if you do not like some part of it. The Court will consider your views. To object to the Settlement, you must serve a written objection in the case, Davis v. Symetra Life Insurance Company, Case No. 2:21-cv-00533-KKE. The objection must include the following information:
You must mail your objection to the Settlement Administrator at ASL COI Settlement, P.O. Box 2009, Chanhassen, MN 55317-2009, postmarked no later than April 25, 2025.
The Judge will hold the Fairness Hearing at 10 a.m. on May 19, 2025, at the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, 700 Stewart Street, Courtroom 16106, Seattle, Washington 98101-9906. The Fairness Hearing may be moved to a different date or time without additional notice being mailed to you, so please check the Settlement Website for any updates. At the Fairness Hearing, the Judge will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate and in the best interests of Settlement Class Members and whether to award the requested attorneys’ fees, expenses, service award, and the costs of settlement administration. If there are objections, the Judge will consider them and will listen to people who have asked to speak at the Fairness Hearing. After the Fairness Hearing, the Judge will decide whether to approve the Settlement. We do not know how long the Judge’s decision will take.