Insurers A Growing Target Of Class Action Suits
April 6, 2015 by Arthur D. Postal, arthur.postal@innfeedback.com
WASHINGTON – Insurance companies have emerged as a significant target for class action lawsuits, according to an annual survey by a law firm that represents management.
Data privacy is another issue that touches insurance companies, as well as advisors. The survey said data privacy emerged as the subject of a “significant volume” of class action lawsuits in 2014.
According to the 2015 Carlton Fields Jorden Burt Class Action, 6 percent of all class action lawsuits filed in 2014 dealt with insurance; data privacy suits constituted 4.2 percent of the total.
“While data privacy matters currently represent a small portion of class actions, when corporate counsel were asked what area they saw as the next wave, they most often identified data privacy,” the report found.
In addition, the report said, although class certification has been a stumbling block for plaintiffs in the area of data privacy, several factors “suggest data security matters are nonetheless poised for growth.”
These data security matters include increasing hacker activity, more frequent internal protocol and security lapses, “and ongoing consumer and business sensitivity regarding data sharing and use,” the report said.
In the life insurance area, Class action suits brought in the life insurance area involve disclosure issues on life and annuity product features, pricing methodology and revisions to contracts, suitability issues, long-term care policy adjustments, and asset management issues, according to James F. Jorden, senior partner in the Washington office of Carlton Fields Jorden Burt.
“The actual theme of any particular suit will vary depending upon the nature of the sales practice or the policy,” Jorden said. There also has been a spike in class action suits against property and casualty insurers, he said.
The report said that corporate counsel also expect a wave of consumer fraud class actions, even though these constituted 29.6 percent of class action lawsuits in 2014. This is up from 26.6 percent of class action lawsuits in 2013.
The survey results were compiled from 360 in-depth interviews with general counsel, chief legal officers and direct reports to general counsel.