Life insurance agents and securities brokers are professionals subject to a standard of care which, if violated, will subject them to liability to their clients. Investment or insurance professionals may also be subject to fiduciary standards. Fiduciaries must place the interest of their clients above their own interest. If they place their own interests above that of the client, they are not only liable for damages the client sustains, but may be liable for punitive damages as well. Unfortunately, many people who may have legitimate claims never assert them for a host of reasons, often because the broker is a friend, a family member, or someone they like and/or trust.
If you believe you may have been the victim of broker or agent malpractice , you owe it to yourself to understand the facts, the extent of potential damage you could sustain, and what your rights are, even if you do not choose to pursue action.
Nearly Four Decades of Experience
As a life insurance malpractice attorney, I have litigated for close to 40 years. Many of my cases have involved insurance broker and agent malpractice. As such, I am prepared to work on cases involving:
- Unsuitable investment recommendations
- Recommending investments without appropriate professional licensing or knowledge
- Improper design of life insurance policies
- Improper designation of ownership of life insurance policy
- Advising client to borrow money to purchase life insurance
- Unsuitable annuity recommendations
- Failure to explain risks
- Failure to provide documentation
- Failure to properly document transactions
- Failure to supervise investment transactions
- Distribution of unapproved literature
- Incorporating contradictory terms into an annuity
Although insurance companies are usually not liable for an agent’s malpractice, agents are ordinarily required to carry errors and omissions insurance. In cases where the agent or broker does not have such insurance, it may be possible to go directly against the insurance company for breach of its own duties to the policyholder.
Your deliberate and decisive action is critical. You need to protect your rights by taking action as soon as you realize there is a potential problem — the statute of limitations clock is ticking. If you fail to mitigate your damages or delay doing something about your policy when you know there is a problem, your window for action may close. I encourage you to get in touch with me as soon as possible.