The Notice was issued to inform potential Class Members about the settlement and their rights and options. The Settlement was approved on July 7, 2022.

Judge P. Kevin Castel of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is in charge of this case. The case is called Hanks v. Voya Retirement Insurance and Annuity Co., Case No. 16-cv-6399 (S.D.N.Y.). The individual who sued is Plaintiff Helen Hanks. The company she sued, Voya Retirement Insurance and Annuity Company, formerly Aetna, is the Defendant.

The class action lawsuit alleges that Voya breached its contracts with certain policy owners. In May 2016, policyholders were issued letters announcing that their insurance policies would be subject to COI rate increases, and Plaintiff asserts those COI rate increases violated the terms of the policyholders’ contracts, and that Plaintiff and members of the Settlement Class have been damaged, as a result. Voya denies these claims; however, both sides have agreed to the Settlement to avoid the risks, costs, and delays of further litigation including an appeal so that people affected will get a chance to receive compensation.

On March 13, 2019, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted Plaintiff’s motion for class certification for breach of contract against Voya. The Court certified a class of policyowners on March 13, 2019. The Class consisted of all owners of universal life (including variable universal life) insurance policies issued by Aetna that were subject to the COI rate increase announced in 2016. Excluded from the Class are Class Counsel and their employees; Voya and Lincoln; officers and directors of Voya and Lincoln, and members of their immediate families; the heirs, successors or assigns of any of the foregoing; the Court, the Court’s staff, and their immediate families. Also excluded from the Class are the twelve policies that, after the Class was certified, validly opted out from the Class.

In a class action, one person called a “Class Representative,” here Plaintiff Helen Hanks, sues on behalf of all individuals who have a similar claim and together they are called the “class” or “class members.” Bringing a case, such as this one, as a class action allows resolution of many similar claims of persons and entities that might be economically too small to bring in individual actions. One court resolves the issues for all class members, except for those who validly exclude themselves from the class.

In a March 13, 2019 order, the Court decided that the breach of contract claim against Voya in this lawsuit can proceed as a class action because, at that point of the lawsuit, it met the requirements of Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which governs class actions in federal court. The Court found that:

• There are numerous Class Members whose interests will be affected by this lawsuit;
• There are legal questions and facts that are common to each of them;
• The Class Representative’s claims are typical of the claims of the rest of the Class;
• The Class Representative and the lawyers representing the Class will fairly and adequately represent the interests of the Class;
• A class action would be a fair, efficient and superior way to resolve this lawsuit;
• The common legal questions and facts predominate over questions that affect only individual Class Members; and
• The Class is ascertainable because it is defined by identifiable objective criteria.

In certifying the Class, the Court appointed Susman Godfrey LLP as Class Counsel.

For more information, please review the Court's Order certifying the Class and other case filings on the Important Documents page.

Voya and Lincoln, Voya’s administrative agent and reinsurer, deny any and all liability or wrongdoing of any sort with regard to the 2016 COI rate increase. Instead, the parties, with the assistance of an experienced mediator, Robert Meyer, Esq. of JAMS, have agreed to the Settlement. The parties want to avoid the risks, costs, and delays of further litigation. The Court has not decided in favor of the Plaintiff or Defendant. Plaintiff and Class Counsel think the Settlement is in the best interests of the Settlement Class and is fair, reasonable, and adequate.

The Settlement Class consists of all owners of universal life (including variable universal life) insurance policies issued by Aetna, now known as Voya, that were subject to the COI increase announced in 2016, except as described in FAQ 8 below.

Yes. Specifically excluded from the Settlement Class are Voya and Lincoln, their officers and directors, members of their immediate families, and the heirs, successors or assigns of any of the foregoing, the Court, the Court’s staff, and their immediate families, Class Counsel and their employees and the twelve polices that timely and validly opted-out after Class Certification (the “Class Opt-Outs”).

In addition, policyowners have an opportunity to request exclusion from the Settlement, as described below. Policyowners that timely and validly request exclusion will not be part of the Settlement Class and will not be entitled to any of its benefits.

If an individual or entity is the owner of both a Class Opt-Out and a policy in the Settlement Class, the owner is included in the Settlement Class with respect to the policy in the Settlement Class but not with respect to any Class Opt-Outs. If an owner (such as a securities intermediary or trustee) owns multiple policies on behalf of different principals, that owner may stay in or opt-out of the Settlement Class separately for each policy.

If you’re still not sure whether you are a Settlement Class member, please review the case documents on the Important Documents page for more information or call the Settlement Administrator toll-free at 1-833-759-2984, or write to:

Voya (f/k/a Aetna) COI Life Insurance Settlement Administrator
c/o JND Legal Administration
P.O. Box 91208
Seattle, WA 98111

A Settlement Fund of $92.5 million will be established for Settlement Class members. The Settlement Fund will be reduced proportionally if there are any opt-outs from the Settlement Class.  After payment of the cost to administer the Settlement Fund as well as attorneys’ fees and expenses and the payments to the Class Representative (see FAQ 18), the Settlement Administrator will distribute the remaining amounts to Settlement Class members in proportion to their share of the overall COI overcharges collected from the Settlement Class through May 2021.  No portion of the Settlement Fund will be returned to Voya or Lincoln.

Voya and Lincoln have also agreed not to:

• Raise COI rates on policies covered by the Settlement for a period of five years, unless ordered to do so by a state regulatory body.
• Cancel, void, rescind, or deny a death claim submitted under the Settlement Class members’ policies or contest the validity of a policy based on:
  • An alleged lack of valid insurable interest under any applicable law or equitable principles; or
  • Any misrepresentation allegedly made on or related to the application for, or otherwise made in applying for the policy.

More details are in the Settlement Agreement.

If you are a Settlement Class member, unless you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you cannot sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against Voya and Lincoln about the facts that arise from the same factual predicate of the claims released in this Settlement. It also means that all the decisions by the Court will bind you. The Released Claims and Released Parties are defined in the Settlement Agreement. They describe the legal claims that you give up if you stay in the Settlement. The Settlement Agreement is available here and on the Important Documents page.

You will automatically receive a payment in the mail if you are entitled to one. No claims need to be filed.

Payments were mailed to eligible Settlement Class members on September 7, 2022.

To exclude yourself (or “opt-out”) of the Settlement, you needed to complete and mail to the Settlement Administrator a written request for exclusion. The deadline to submit your exclusion request by April 19, 2022 and has passed.

IF YOU DID NOT EXCLUDE YOURSELF BY THE DEADLINE ABOVE, YOU WILL BE PART OF THE SETTLEMENT CLASS AND BE BOUND BY THE ORDERS OF THE COURT IN THIS LAWSUIT.

No. Unless you excluded yourself, you give up any right to sue Voya and Lincoln for the claims that this Settlement resolves. If you have a pending lawsuit, speak to your lawyer in that lawsuit immediately. You needed to exclude yourself from this Settlement to continue your own lawsuit. If you properly excluded yourself from the Settlement, you will not be bound by any orders or judgments entered in the Action relating to the Settlement.

No. You will not get any money from the Settlement if you excluded yourself.

Yes. The Court has appointed the following lawyers as “Class Counsel.”

The Court will determine how much Class Counsel will be paid for fees and expenses. Class Counsel filed a motion seeking an award for attorneys’ fees not to exceed 33% of the Final Settlement Fund, which equals the gross monetary fund (that is, the total cash fund) after any reduction in the amount of the Settlement Fund due to any opt-outs from the Settlement Class. For example, if no one opts out from the Settlement Class, then the Final Settlement Fund will equal the entire $92.5 million, and Class Counsel will file a motion seeking an award for attorneys’ fees that will not exceed $30,525,000, which is 33% of the Final Settlement Fund in this example. If there are opt-outs from the Settlement Class, then the Final Settlement Fund will be reduced on a pro-rata basis, and Class Counsel will seek an award for attorneys’ fees from that reduced amount that will also not exceed 33% of the Final Settlement Fund. For example, if the Final Settlement Fund is reduced to $81 million as a result of opt-outs, Class Counsel will seek an award for attorneys’ fees not to exceed $26.73 million, which is 33% of the Final Settlement Fund in this example. In addition to seeking an award for attorneys’ fees, Class Counsel will seek reimbursement for expenses incurred or to be incurred in connection with the Settlement, as well as an incentive award up to $25,000 for Helen Hanks for her service as the representative on behalf of the Settlement Class, to be paid from the Final Settlement Fund. You will not be responsible for direct payment of any of these fees, expenses, or awards.

If you stay in the Settlement Class, you do not need to hire your own lawyer to pursue the claims against Voya and Lincoln because Class Counsel is working on behalf of the Settlement Class. However, if you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense and cost.

The deadline to object to the Settlement was April 19, 2022 and has passed.

If you intended to appear at the Fairness Hearing through counsel, the written objection needed to also state the identity of all attorneys representing you who will appear at the Fairness Hearing. Your objection, along with any supporting material you wish to submit, needed to be filed with the Office of the Court, with a copy served on Class Counsel and Counsel for Defendant by April 19, 2022 at the following addresses:

Objecting is simply telling the Court that you don’t like something about the Settlement. You can object to the Settlement only if you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement. The purpose of an objection to the Settlement is to persuade the Court not to approve the proposed Settlement. A successful objection to the Settlement means that the objector and other members of the Class are not bound by the Settlement. Excluding yourself from the Settlement is telling the Court that you don’t want to be part of the Settlement. If you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you have no basis to object to the Settlement because it no longer affects you.

The Court held a Fairness Hearing on June 29, 2022, and the Court decided to approve the Settlement after the hearing. The Final Judgment is available on the Important Documents tab of this website. .

No. But you or your own lawyer could have attended at your expense. If you submitted an objection, you didn’t have to come to Court to talk about it. As long as you filed and served your written objection on time to the proper addresses, the Court considered it.

Yes. You could have asked the Court for permission to speak at the Fairness Hearing. To do so, you needed to send a letter saying that it is your “Notice of Intent to Appear.” Your request must have stated your name, address, and telephone number, as well as the name, address, and telephone number of the person that will appear on your behalf. Your request needed to be filed with the Clerk of the Court and served on Class Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel no later than April 19, 2022. The deadline to submit your request to appear has passed.

If you do nothing, you will automatically receive a payment from the Settlement. Unless you excluded yourself, you won’t be able to start a lawsuit, continue with a lawsuit, or be part of any other lawsuit against Voya and Lincoln about the legal issues that arise from the same factual predicate of this case, ever again.

The notice summarizes the Settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement. You can also call the Settlement Administrator toll-free at 1-833-759-2984, or write to:

Voya (f/k/a Aetna) COI Life Insurance Settlement Administrator
c/o JND Legal Administration
P.O. Box 91208
Seattle, WA 98111

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT