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New York fines Citigroup $2 million
Dec 21, 2010 3:45 pm
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="220" caption="Image from Citigroup website."]
[/caption]Three Citigroup-affiliated insurance agencies paid a $2 million fine to New York for insurance law violations committed from 2003 to 2007, New York State Insurance Superintendent James J. Wrynn announced today. Citicorp Insurance Agency, Inc., Citicorp Investment Services, and SBHU Life Agency, Inc., violated the Insurance Law and Department regulations about sales practices surrounding life insurance and annuity sales by the agencies. These included failure to disclose required information comparing policies or contracts being replaced with their potential replacements, and inaccurate or incomplete disclosure of policy or contract values or surrender charges. "Consumers considering replacing an annuity or insurance policy should get all the information they need in order to make an accurate comparison," Wrynn said. "Our regulations require it and we will enforce it. These are complex products and consumers may not be able to easily weigh the effects of surrender charges, interest rate changes or other hidden costs, for example. We insist upon accurate side-by-side comparisons of these products in order to protect consumers."
[/caption]Three Citigroup-affiliated insurance agencies paid a $2 million fine to New York for insurance law violations committed from 2003 to 2007, New York State Insurance Superintendent James J. Wrynn announced today. Citicorp Insurance Agency, Inc., Citicorp Investment Services, and SBHU Life Agency, Inc., violated the Insurance Law and Department regulations about sales practices surrounding life insurance and annuity sales by the agencies. These included failure to disclose required information comparing policies or contracts being replaced with their potential replacements, and inaccurate or incomplete disclosure of policy or contract values or surrender charges. "Consumers considering replacing an annuity or insurance policy should get all the information they need in order to make an accurate comparison," Wrynn said. "Our regulations require it and we will enforce it. These are complex products and consumers may not be able to easily weigh the effects of surrender charges, interest rate changes or other hidden costs, for example. We insist upon accurate side-by-side comparisons of these products in order to protect consumers."