MetLife Settlement Money will go to State General Fund

TOPEKA, Kan., May 21 -- The Kansas Department of Insurance issued the following news release:

Nearly $326,000 in insurance settlement money paid to the Kansas Insurance Department will be deposited into the state's general fund, Sandy Praeger, Commissioner of Insurance, announced today.

The settlement money comes from MetLife, Inc. and some of its subsidiaries as a result of a multi-state insurance examination. The examination by state regulators found concerns about MetLife's practices in notifying beneficiaries of death benefits in life insurance policies.

By Kansas statutory law, insurance settlement money is regularly returned to the state general fund.

"The multi-state settlement is the latest example of state insurance regulators working together to ensure consumer protections in life insurance," said Sandy Praeger, Commissioner of Insurance.

The regulatory settlement totals $40 million for all 50 United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa. The allocation was based on the company's percentage of life premiums and annuities for each state and territory.

The settlement included an agreement with insurance regulators that MetLife would change its business practices to include using the Social Security Administration's Death Master File for locating beneficiaries in order to make more timely payments to them.

The insurance department, a fee-funded agency, contributed nearly $143 million to the state general fund last year from premium fees and taxes paid by insurance companies. The department's annual operating budget also comes from insurance company fees and taxes.

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