MILWAUKEE (WTAQ) – Milwaukee’s Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company has agreed to pay $84 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over an old change in its annuity product.
A company spokeswoman tells the Journal Sentinel that a small group of customers sought more than its fair share of dividends.
While the company said it was proud of its dividend payments, it settled the lawsuit to avoid litigation costs — plus what it called “the uncertainty of the legal process.”
Plaintiffs filed suit over a change made by Northwestern Mutual in 1985 without notice, resulting in losses of dividend income over up to 20 years. The firm said the change was a part of its business.
(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)
