Colorado Bankers (CB Life)...

[Mary Combs]

I am another annuity victim of Colorado Banker’s Life. I signed up for quarterly updates on the rehabilitation.
I have not received an update this quarter. Has anyone else received an update?

 

[Mary Combs]

Also Colorado Bankers Life information phone number that is posted on the rehabilitation info website no longer returns my calls. ?????

 

[rats0001]

Try this for updates
Regulatory Actions (Receiverships) | NC DOI

Highlights from what I read, 1) company surplus almost gone, even before writing off any affiliated investments that are not paying, 2)the one time 10% up to $15000 cash out, total amount paid out was only $29M a very small amount for a over $2 B company.

They should be liquidated now, they are insolvent now and will be insolvent many years in the future when all these court cases are finally decided. That is my opinion.

 

[Phyllis Christos]

My husband and I are close to retirement age in Massachusetts. In March 2018 we purchased a CB Life 5 year fixed rate fixed term annuity through Citizens Securities doing business out of our local retail Citizens Bank branch in Brighton. Our family has been doing business with Citizens in Brighton for over 40 years and we have always had bank accounts and CD's with them with no problems. In 2018 our CD was maturing and they (Citizens) were pursuing us to put the money into a fixed rate fixed term annuity as an alternative to a CD as the interest rate was higher. At the time Colorado Bankers Life was offering 3.6% guaranteed interest for 5 years on a fixed rate fixed term annuity and it was a highly rated company. The agent at Citizens Securities explained that the money was "fully insured" by the Massachusetts Guaranty Association and pointed us to their website. We looked at that website and saw that it said money would be covered "UP TO $250,000.00". When we went back to the agent at Citizens Securities with this he explained that as long as BOTH OUR NAMES were listed as owners on the contract that we would EACH be covered up to $250,000.00. We happily signed on the dotted line for $400,000.00 and decided to forget about the money for 5 years. Fast forward... a little over 2 years later... April 2020... we find out that CB Life is in rehabilitation...and has been since June 2019...We immediately called the agent at Citizens and he explained that he didn't tell us because he didn't want to "alarm" us... but we had "nothing to worry about"... and we would get "all" our money back "in March 2023"... and he once again... pointed us to the Mass Guaranty Association website. He said to look at the frequently asked questions tab and specifically where it says "The total protection PER OWNER per member company is $250,000 for all annuity contracts". We were actually on the phone with the Citizens agent while we he was walking us through the website and where to look. After hanging up with the Citizens agent we immediately called the Mass Guaranty Association and the Director there informed us that the Citizens Securities agent had sold us a bill of goods when telling us that EACH NAMED PERSON (owner) on the contract would be covered up to $250,000.00. That is completely FALSE and in fact the most we would EVER be "covered for" is $250,000.00. So -- we went back to the head of Citizens Securities and issued a formal complaint against the agent but after an internal review of our complaint we received a letter from Citizens Securities indicating they don't believe that the agent did anything wrong. HUH?? We are devastated and shocked that Citizens Securities is employing agents in Massachusetts who are at best confused and mis-informed about the products they are selling and at worst lying to their clients.... Obviously it's not Citizens Securities fault that CB Life is in rehabilitation...that is not our complaint. The issue is we would have only done the fixed rate fixed term annuity for $250,000.00 (not 400 thousand) if we had been correctly told by Citizens Securities that 250 was the maximum amount we would be covered for... in the event of bankruptcy of CB Life.

 

[Tahoe Ray]

Wow. Really tough seeing all of the frustration and pain caused by one man's fraud. For what it's worth:

At the time Colorado Bankers Life was offering 3.6% guaranteed interest for 5 years on a fixed rate fixed term annuity and it was a highly rated company.

Colorado Bankers hadn't been "highly rated" since 2015

When we went back to the agent at Citizens Securities with this he explained that as long as BOTH OUR NAMES were listed as owners on the contract that we would EACH be covered up to $250,000.00.

That is the opposite of what the agent should have done. You would have wanted to have separate contracts, and of course, that assumes that Mass doesn't have some householding provision in their association.

I'm sorry that you're going through all of this. Hopefully, you get the resolution that you seek.

 

[Phyllis Christos]

Thanks. Somehow we thought B++ was a high rating. Apparently not...

 

[scagnt83]

and it was a highly rated company.

Unfortunately, a B+ rating puts them in the bottom 40% of insurance carriers in the US.

By AM Best's own definition of a B+ rating, that means "Good ability to pay claims". Vs. "Excellent Ability" and "Superior Ability" definition that an A or A+ rating carries.

An Agent's E&O insurance often does not even cover sales from B rated carriers. That is how much risk is associated with that rating.

The agent at Citizens Securities explained that the money was "fully insured" by the Massachusetts Guaranty Association and pointed us to their website. We looked at that website and saw that it said money would be covered "UP TO $250,000.00". When we went back to the agent at Citizens Securities with this he explained that as long as BOTH OUR NAMES were listed as owners on the contract that we would EACH be covered up to $250,000.00.

SGA coverage is not insurance. It was illegal for the agent to tell you that. It was also illegal for them to use SGA coverage to solicit a sale.

The Mass SGA website does suck from looking at it. But if you fully read the Q&A section, it does contradict what your agent told you. It also states in the Q&A that agents are prohibited from using it in advertising or soliciting insurance.

Do you have any of this in writing from them? Such as an email?

So -- we went back to the head of Citizens Securities and issued a formal complaint against the agent but after an internal review of our complaint we received a letter from Citizens Securities indicating they don't believe that the agent did anything wrong. HUH?? We are devastated and shocked that Citizens Securities is employing agents in Massachusetts who are at best confused and mis-informed about the products they are selling and at worst lying to their clients.... Obviously it's not Citizens Securities fault that CB Life is in rehabilitation...that is not our complaint. The issue is we would have only done the fixed rate fixed term annuity for $250,000.00 (not 400 thousand) if we had been correctly told by Citizens Securities that 250 was the maximum amount we would be covered for... in the event of bankruptcy of CB Life.

You need to file a complaint with your state DOI. Not with the bank.

The bank has no incentive to admit their employee screwed you over.

Get the DOI involved. Today. What they did was illegal. Most state DOI websites have an online complaint form to get the process immediately started.

 

[HarryV]

As if those ratings mean much: years of B++, then going from that level to E in two weeks *after* the bad news.

 

[Tahoe Ray]

As if those ratings mean much: years of B++, then going from that level to E in two weeks *after* the bad news.

The little "u" next to them means that they're under review. Outright fraud is a pretty big outlier when it comes to ratings, though, and can be difficult to catch before it's too late.

 

[scagnt83]

that assumes that Mass doesn't have some householding provision in their association.

They do from what their website says:

"Are all policies fully protected?

No. If your insurance company fails, the maximum amount of Guaranty Association protection provided for each type of policy, no matter how many of that type of policy there are, is listed below:"