Eddy v AmerUs Life Insurance Co.
Florida Attorneys file Class Action against AmerUs Group Co.
Two Florida attorneys filed a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division, on behalf Dorothy L. Eddy and other Florida senior citizens against AmerUs Life Insurance Co., a subsidiary of AmerUs Group Co. (NYSE:AMH).
The complaint alleges that AmerUs Life Insurance Co. designed a scheme to manipulate Florida senior citizens into purchasing equity-indexed annuities. Eddy, a Brevard County resident, and other seniors purchased equity-indexed annuities believing the products would provide retirement income and other benefits. However, in many cases the maturity dates of the annuities were well beyond the seniors' life expectancies.
"We've seen too many people in Florida fall victim to unscrupulous salespeople who are pushing an investment product that makes absolutely no sense for most seniors," said one of the attorneys that filed the case. "Equity-indexed annuities tie up retirees' nest eggs for 10, 15 and in some cases 20 years and carry high penalties for early withdrawal."
This is the second class-action lawsuit filed in Florida against a national annuity producer alleging wrongful annuity sales and marketing practices involving seniors.
