AVIVA LIFE UNITS TO PAY $4M FOR MISUSE OF US DEATH FILE

Aviva Life & Annuity and Aviva Life & Annuity Co of New York have agreed to pay $4m to regulators in California, Florida, Pennsylvania and elsewhere to settle an investigation into life assurers’ misuse of the US Social Security Administration’s Death Master File (DMF). The companies were among several life assurers that regulators suspected of using the DMF as a resource to halt payments to deceased annuity customers but being less diligent in tracking down beneficiaries of deceased life customers. Such improper use of the database has enabled insurers to avoid payment of billions of dollars in death benefits, regulators have said. Carriers representing over half the US life market have agreed to pay fines and to reform their business practices as a result of the probe. Other carriers include Aegon, AIG, MetLife and New York Life. The two Aviva companies were part of Aviva USA, which Aviva of the UK sold to Bermuda’s Athene Holding earlier this year for $1.55bn. When the deal closed last month, Athene quickly sold on the two life companies to the Presidential Life Insurance unit of Global Atlantic Financial Group’s Commonwealth Annuity and Life Insurance subsidiary.