My uncle who lived in NY, passed away in 2004. We are trying to get an full understanding of his life insurance policy. He purchased a Variable Life Insurance policy. The first issue his wife has is wiith regards to the selling practices used to sell this policy to my uncle. Not only were the agents showing papers that were titled "Not For Client Presentation", but they never did a financial analysis on him either. He was unexperienced in the stock market and did not have a large income. The numbers they provided him during their sales tactics showed a cost of less than $3000 per year (including fees). Soon after the policy managed to jump to a cost of more than $13,000 per year. This was much too high for a man who wasn't even making a six figure income. He could no longer afford the premiums and stopped making payments. Without any notification or offer to reinstate the policy, the Insurance Company then took out more than $16,000 in surrender charges leaving less than $4000 on the policy. We have been calling the insurance company continually with very little response. We have even been told that all paperwork regarding this policy has lapsed, and therefore been destroyed. How can we tell for sure whether or not we have a legal stance in this matter? We've done research on insurance laws, but they are vague and difficult to decipher. The NASD states that Agents selling such policies must do a financial background to see suitability for their clients, however does not indicate what would be a "suitable" income for such a policy. Also, how are fraudulent or misleading sales practices defined?
Thank you for your help.
Ernesto
New York
Thank you for your help.
Ernesto
New York