Veterans Agency to Probe Insurer Handling Soldiers’ Benefits

[Joanne98]

Source: Bloomberg

July 29 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is investigating life insurance companies’ practice of putting veterans’ death benefits in corporate accounts and keeping most of the investment profits instead of paying the survivors.

“The possibility that life insurance companies are profiting inappropriately from these service members’ sacrifice is completely unacceptable,” Mike Walcoff, acting undersecretary for the agency’s Veterans Benefit Administration, said yesterday in a statement that announced the investigation.

Bloomberg Markets magazine reported what has become a standard practice for life insurance policies issued by companies including Prudential Financial Inc. and MetLife Inc.

Instead of paying a lump sum to survivors when a policyholder dies, insurers keep the money in their own accounts, pay uncompetitive interest rates to survivors and give them misleading guarantees about the safety of the funds.

Prudential, the second-largest life insurer, handles life insurance policies for U.S. military personnel and veterans. New York-based MetLife, the largest life insurer in the U.S., provides insurance for nonmilitary federal employees.


Read more: http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=akh80dQQH3nQ&pos=9

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They're probably doing this to everybody!

[sarge43]

1. At least Jessie James wore a mask. n/t

[pinboy3niner]

2. This updates another thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4482239

I posted a notice of your update there, with link.