August 2016

TAX DEVELOPMENTS

IRS Sets Hearing Date for Reportable Policy Sale Proposed Rules

On August 23 the IRS issued a notice of hearing on its recent proposed changes relating to the transfer for valuable consideration rules associated with 1035 exchanges of life insurance contracts and other life insurance contract transactions.

The hearing is set for September 28.

 

JUDUCIAL DEVELOPMENTS

Litigation Related to the MOVEit Data Breach

In the aftermath of the well-publicized data breach involving Progress Software’s MOVEit file transfer software, a large number of class action complaints have been filed across the country. Many name Progress Software and Pension Benefit Information (“PBI”, a leading death audit service provider) as defendants.

Several insurers that were customers of PBI have been named as defendants also, including

  • Athene Annuity and Life Company (Weissman v. Athene; 1:2016cv3999)
  • Corebridge Financial (Newman v. Corebridge; 4:23-cv-02967)
  • Genworth Financial (multiple)
  • Talcott Resolution Life Insurance Company (Guitang v. Talcott; 3:23-cv-01087)

A Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation is considering a motion to transfer and centralize all the related actions to the US District Court for the District of Minnesota. A hearing is scheduled for September 28 on this matter.

We will continue to monitor this litigation activity.